Al-Jasser: work is underway to restructure and develop aviation infrastructure    Diriyah to host third IMFC Deputies meeting under Saudi chairmanship    15,135 decisions taken to penalize Saudis and expats for violations    Saudi-European Parliamentary Friendship Committee discusses cooperation during Strasbourg visit    Saudi stock market loses half a trillion riyals, with Aramco's losses amounting to SR340 billion Tariff turmoil rattles Gulf markets    KAU to host Digital Communication Conference in Jeddah from April 29 to May 1    TGA: Riyadh tops with 45% of 290 million orders delivered in 2024    Aja and Salma mountains draw nature lovers to Hail's rugged landscapes    US revokes all visas for South Sudanese nationals over deportation dispute    Death toll from Myanmar earthquake rises to 3,471    Macron to hold Gaza summit with Egypt and Jordan in Cairo    Benzema rescues Al Ittihad with stoppage-time equalizer in thrilling Jeddah Derby    Al Qadsiah and Al Ettifaq share spoils in tense Eastern Derby stalemate    Moussa Diaby praises Al Ittihad's resilience after Jeddah Derby draw "When you can't win, you take a point"    Saudi assistant referee Iman Al Madani joins AFC elite list for 2025    Riyadh Art Week launches with over 50 galleries showcasing global artistic dialogue    Turki Al-Sheikh announces five new Saudi film projects to be produced in Riyadh    Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Clinton gaining an edge on health care issue
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 03 - 2008

US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama often says his rival Hillary Clinton would force people into buying health care “whether they could afford it or not.”
But pollsters and health industry experts say a steep US economic slowdown or recession could help Clinton's battle with Obama for the US presidential nomination by playing to one of her perceived strengths: that she would be better than Obama at controlling surging health care costs. Health care and other economic issues gave Clinton an edge in Ohio's primary on March 4 when the New York senator, who would be America's first female president, beat a surging Obama, the Illinois senator who would the first black president, exit polls showed.
Many of the same forces are at work in the Pennsylvania contest on April 22, the biggest remaining fight in the Democratic race. Her campaign hopes to repeat her success in Ohio, in part by focusing on her $110 billion universal health care plan as the US economy stumbles.
“When voters say they are worried about the economy, health care is what an awful lot of them are really worried about,” said Clay Richards, an assistant director at the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Connecticut.
“They see Clinton as the candidate with far more experience in the field,” he said.
‘Almost paradoxical'
But that experience, he noted, includes Clinton's dramatic failure in 1993 to reform US health care, which many Americans felt overstepped the role of first lady.
“It's almost paradoxical that she had a plan that failed and that she is seen as more experienced and the better candidate on health care,” he said.
A Quinnipiac survey of Pennsylvania released on Tuesday showed Clinton widening her lead from 6 to 12 percentage points over Obama. Democrats in the state preferred Clinton on health care by a 56 percent to 38 percent margin, it said.
“Pennsylvania has traditionally had an older female electorate which is the number one group of voters for Clinton, number one group of voters for health care, and the number one group of voters who tend to think Clinton is better on health care,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster not affiliated with either candidate.
But Lake and other experts question whether health care or any single issue will dramatically alter the state-by-state race for delegates to the party's nominating convention in August, where the candidate for the November election will be chosen. Obama has led in the delegate count for weeks.
“Clinton would be in a worse position were it not for the rise of economic issues like health care,” said Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster who is not affiliated with a campaign. “But I don't think issues are going to decide this race.” At campaign stops, Clinton calls universal health care a core Democratic value.
“In order to be competitive we've got to have a health care system that covers everybody, doesn't leave anybody out and which begins to lower costs for everyone,” she told a rally in Pennsylvania on March 10.
Surging Costs
Americans who have health insurance have seen double-digit increases each year for much of the past decade. The number who go without it has reached to nearly 47 million, or about 16 percent of the population, Census Bureau figures show.
People without insurance spend roughly $125 billion on health care annually, with about a third of that amount – $40 billion -- going unpaid, a debt largely covered by the government, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study.
Both Clinton and Obama would seek to make health insurance more affordable, and both aim for universal coverage. Both would require private insurers to offer policies to everyone regardless of medical history, and both would allow people to buy government-sponsored insurance.
But Clinton would mandate that everyone acquire health care coverage, just as all automobile drivers must carry insurance. Obama would require only children to be covered and says people will buy insurance if it becomes affordable.
“I don't think the public perceives an enormous difference between the two, though there are differences of course,” said William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and and a former policy adviser to ex-President Bill Clinton.
“Do I expect the Democratic nomination to turn on the issue of health care? No,” Galston said.
But he expects “a resurgence in public debate once the general election is joined in earnest” because there are stark differences between the Democrats' health care plans and that of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate.
McCain's plan emphasizes containing costs rather than covering the uninsured, proposing a tax credit of $2,500 to low-income individuals and $5,000 to low-income families who obtain their own insurance.
“The cost of health care is unlikely to go away and is certain to figure prominently in the general election,” Galston said. __


Clic here to read the story from its source.