Health Policy
Contents
Chris Christie
Christie | Health Policy | (section page)
Entitlement Spending
MediCare
“Protecting Health Benefits For Today’s And Tomorrow’s Seniors”
Governor Christie proposes “keeping it simple - if you can afford to pay more for your health benefits you will and if you can’t, you won’t.”
- Expanding Existing Premium Means Testing: expanding the existing sliding scale for Medicare premiums for higher-income seniors
- Seniors with a $85,000 a year income will pay 40% of premium costs, increasing it to 90% above $196,000 a year.
- Greater cost-sharing through higher income-related premiums will also be applied to the drug prescription program Medicare Part D.
- Rasing the Eligibility Age at a Gradual Rate:Just as with Social Security, the Medicare program must be adjusted to reflect the longer, healthier and more productive lives Americans are living. Governor Christie proposes increasing the Medicare eligibility by one month per year so that by 2040 it would be 67 years old, and by 2064 would be 69 years old.
- Creating Uniform, Single Combined Deductible:
- Creating a uniform single annual deductible of $550, with a uniform coinsurance rate of 20% above the deductible.
- Providing catastrophic protection for seniors with just a 5% cost-share after out of pocket expenses reach $5,500 in a year, and a hard cap of $7,500 a year in cost-sharing. This will save money for the Medicare system while also providing greater protection against catastrophic costs for seniors.
Medicaid
“Empowering States To Focus On Better Services For The Individual”
Governor Christie proposes “making the program less complicated, easier and more focused on how to serve people.”
- Providing States with a Per Capita Allocation To Fund The Program: Under Governor Christie’s proposal, per capita caps are indexed to the number of enrollees in Medicaid, giving each state a set amount of funds per individual enrollee. The Governor also proposes to adjust this amount for inflation going forward. Under such an arrangement, Medicaid would continue to provide more funding for states and low-income individuals when the economy is doing poorly and unemployment increases. By implementing a per capita cap system, all states will have increased freedom to tailor Medicaid programs.
- Simplifying the Waiver Process: Under the current system, states have to wait months to receive waiver approval in order to shape their Medicaid program to fit the specific needs of their state and people. The Governor is calling for a simplified waiver process where “waiver templates” of what has worked in one state, to make them easy to approve in another.
- Better Coordinating Care For Dual Eligibles: Over 9 million low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. And while these individuals represent just 13% of enrollees in either program, they account for 27% of all Medicare spending and 40% of Medicaid spending. These individuals would be better served if they received their coverage through a managed care organization. This will allow the services provided to them to be better coordinated through singular oversight across the spectrum of health care funding streams.
- Requiring a Modest Copay for Those Above the Poverty Line. Governor Christie proposes that those Medicaid with incomes above 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) would have a $10 copay for a doctor’s visit and a $20 copay for a hospital visit. This will introduce economics into the health care purchase decision and encourage rational use of health care resources.
Disability Insurance
“Refocusing Assistance To Put People Back to Work” Gov. Christie proposes “focusing on ways to help those beneficiaries who can keep working to return to the workforce and encouraging rehabilitation in lieu of permanent disability.”
- Focusing On Remaining In The Workforce: Similar to reforms enacted in The Netherlands, for individuals applying for disability benefits the goal should be to find solutions that keep people in the labor force and living productive lives. “Reforms in The Netherlands have had the effect of reducing the flow of new disability beneficiaries by 60% in 6 years.”
- Workplace Solutions And Rehabilitation: Require applicants to first work directly with employers and rehabilitation specialists to create a plan and explore alternatives and accommodations that can be made to address their specific needs in their current workplace.
- Employer Incentives: Offer tax incentives that encourage employers to invest in prevention, accommodation and rehabilitation services for their workers as well as to provide short-term private disability insurance.
- Incentivizing Individuals To Get Back To Work: Governor Christie proposes reforming the DI program to encourage people to get back into the workforce by speeding up the qualification review process, updating the requirements for recency of work and for returning to work, as well as increasing funding for continuing reviews. At the same time the program should encourage vocational rehab, wage subsidies and preventive care services to keep an individual working with additional support.
Healthcare for Veterans
Christie is committed to our nation’s veterans and providing them with the healthcare they’ve been promised.
- ANYTIME, ANYWHERE CARE:
Governor Christie believes veterans should be able to receive their health care benefit from any medical institution. Private sector and nonprofit hospitals want to be engaged in veteran health care and they should be brought in to supplement treatment delivered from veterans’ hospitals.
- QUALIFIED LEADERSHIP AT THE VA:
As President, Christie would hire a qualified professional who has run a major healthcare system in this country to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The majority of the role of the VA has become that of a healthcare provider and therefore needs someone who knows how to meet the mission of providing adequate and timely care.
- 24/7 HOTLINE:
In New Jersey, Governor Christie’s administration established a 24 hours a day 7 days a week hotline manned by mental health professionals as well as veteran volunteers. Governor Christie supports creating a similar nationwide hotline to act as a resource for veterans experiencing mental health issues when they get home. (CCWER)
Donald Trump
Trump's Health Policy (section page):
Trump has flipped between pro-choice and pro-life. Now considers himself pro-life. (DTS)
Abortions
- "I support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and urge Congress to pass this bill. A ban on elective abortions after 20 weeks will protect unborn children. We should not be one of seven countries that allows elective abortions after 20 weeks. It goes against our core values." (DTI)
Bernie Sanders
Bernie's Health Policy (section page)
"I want to end the international embarrassment of the United States of America being the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people as a right and not a privilege." - Bernie Sanders (HP)
Bernie believes in guaranteeing healthcare as a right of citizenship by enacting a medicare for all single-payer healthcare system. He also favors enacting universal childcare and prekindergarten policy. (BSWII)
In Bernie's system the rich pay more in order to ensure that health care is a right not a privilege. He claims we must join the rest of the modern world with universal healthcare. Statistically America spends more per person on Healthcare than any other advanced nation in the world, but ends up with less. He argues that providing universal health care is a morally principled and financially responsible decision. He will also fight to lower prescription drug policies. (BSWHC)
Sanders is also in favor of expanding the VA so that every veteran can receive the care they need, both mental and physical. (BSWV)
"We should not be the only major country on Earth that does not guarantee health care to all of our people as a right of citizenship and we should not be the only major country that does not provide medical and — and parental leave — family and parental leave to all of our families." (DD1)
Rand Paul
Paul's Health Policy (section page)
U.S. Health Care System
Overall attitude towards U.S. health care/Obamacare:
- Advocate of repealing Obamacare, in favor of free-market principles/against over-regulation of health care market/opposes any government-run health care system (RPW - HP)
- Supports making all medical expenses tax deductible, allowing insurance to be bought across state lines, tort reform (state-level), and removing the high-deductible insurance policy requirement to access to Health Savings Accounts (OTI - HP)
Free Market Policies in Health Care
"As a doctor, I have had firsthand experience with the immense problems facing health care in the United States. Prior to the implementation of Obamacare, our health care system was over-regulated and in need of serious market reforms—but Obamacare is not the answer." (RPW - HP)
"As your President, I will ensure that real free-market principles are applied to the American health care system so that it is responsive to patients, families, and doctors, rather than government bureaucracy." (RPW - HP)
Other Issues in Health Care
- Protect vitamin manufacturers from regulation
- Get rid of mandatory mental health screening in schools
- Encourages vaccinations, allows for religious exemptions:
"Parents own the children, and it is an issue of freedom and public health."
Sanctity of Life
" I believe that life begins at conception and that abortion takes the life of an innocent human being. Under the 14th Amendment, it is the government’s duty to protect life as defined in our Constitution."(RPW- HP)
"Our government should not be responsible for funding abortions, and as President, I will attempt to stop the flow of taxpayer dollars to groups who perform or advocate for abortion." (RPW- HP)
"As a physician, one of the first things we learn is to ‘Do no harm.’ Since Roe v. Wade decision, over 50 million children have been killed in abortion procedures. As President, I would strongly support legislation restricting federal courts from hearing cases like Roe v. Wade, in an effort to stop harming the lives of the unborn." (RPW- HP)
"I believe we may be able to save millions of lives, and do no harm, by allowing states to pass their own anti-abortion laws. By giving this power to the states, I sincerely believe we would save hundreds of thousands of lives." (RPW- HP)
