According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 47 million Americans are without health insurance. The outcome of the election could have a great effect on how AU students will one day be covered under health insurance plans.
Four major front-runners in the upcoming elections have different positions on health care. Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton, N.Y., and Barack Obama, Ill., look toward a nationalized health insurance plan, according to their campaign Web sites.
Republicans Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, and Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, are shying away from government options and looking for other solutions, according to their campaign Web sites.
The current leader in the Democratic polls, Clinton, recently announced her plan called the "American Health Choices Plan." According to Clinton's Web site, the plan would "put the customer in the driver's seat" by giving each American several choices of insurance at lower costs.
Her plan also allows people who like their current health insurance coverage to keep it. Companies would not be allowed to deny anyone based on pre-existing medical conditions under Clinton's plan.
Also, if a person loses his or her job, he or she can keep the coverage. Clinton's Web site does not indicate how she plans to fund this program. However, the site states that "Hillary has the strength and experience to ensure that every man, woman and child in America has quality, affordable health care."
The other Democratic leader, Obama, is committed to signing legislation by the end of his first term in office, according to his campaign Web site.
Obama will fight disparities in the health care system, which include the lack of health care for minorities, according to his Web site. Obama says his plan will save the average American family $2,500 a year in health care costs, according to the Web site. This could be accomplished "by providing affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage for every American," according to his Web site.
AU students were divided in their opinions of the leading Democrats' health care proposals. Amanda Rollins, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said she supports a universal health care plan.
"For someone who is going to be coming out of college, chances are I'm not going to have a high-paying job right away," she said. "What if I get sick while I'm uninsured? These are questions I feel I shouldn't have to worry about."
Tessa Raden, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, echoed these sentiments.
"I definitely think that it should be nationalized," Raden said.
Health care is overlooked too often, and it should not be because it is a basic necessity, she said.
"Basic human needs should come first," she said.
However, Katie Caruso, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business, had reservations about universal health care.
"If it's going to go to illegal immigrants, then I don't think it's fair," she said.
But Caruso does support universal health care if it would help those who "need it the most," such as the elderly or children.
Republicans do not hold the Democrats' view of universal health care, according to previous statements made by the top two candidates.
Based on what he said at a GOP debate at Saint Anselm College in June, Republican front-runner Giuliani favors the power of the free market in the United States.
"We should be giving you a major tax deduction - $15,000 for a family," with which Americans could buy their own health insurance plans, Giuliani said at the debate.
He also proposed to create a "health savings account" in which people could put money aside for health insurance purposes, according to his campaign Web site.
Republican candidate Romney has similar plans for health care. In a July 2005 USA Today article, Romney said, "We can't have as a nation of 40 million people - or, in my state [Massachusetts], half a million - saying, 'I don't have insurance, and if I get sick, I want someone else to pay.' "
Health care for everybody can happen within the free market system, Romney said. Romney said in a video on his campaign Web site that he seeks to "make health care more like a market-driven entity" so that it could benefit insurance companies rather than a government-driven entity.
