As part of the Spy’s coverage of the Democratic Party primary race for the 1st Congressional District, we have asked the candidates to respond to specific questions from our readers. Each week, the Spy will be asking the candidates to provide a summary of their positions.
This week “Ask the Candidates” focuses on the Health Care Reform Act passed by Congress in 2010 and mandates on individuals to purchase health insurance.
Where do you stand on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)which was passed last year in 2011? Would you like to expand it’s scope, keep it the way it is, or attempt to improve or eliminate certain aspects of the program?
John LaFerla
Wendy Rosen:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an imperfect piece of legislation. However, the amount of good in the bill far outweighs the bad. The ability for our children to stay on our health insurance until the age of 26 is an important step in bridging the gap between school and full employment. Additionally, I have had the experience, as an employer, of having difficulty finding coverage for employees due to pre-existing conditions. This is a problem that we absolutely had to fix to insure the health of our nation. Ultimately I feel that the answer for our country, as it has been for almost every developed nation, will be some form of universal healthcare. That the United States lags behind so much of the world on this important issue is of great concern and is something that will surely have to be revisited by future Congresses and Presidents.
Do you believe it is constitutional to mandate health coverage for every American?
John LaFerla:
I believe the individual mandate is constitutional under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. No one questions laws mandating auto coverage to drive a car. However, I also believe we need to explore less punitive ways of ensuring that everyone pays into the health care system to stop the cost-shifting that occurs when people choose not to buy health insurance until they get sick.
Wendy Rosen:
The Supreme Court will, of course, ultimately decide the constitutionality of that particular aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. What is important to remember though is that, even before this legislation, we were all left holding the bill for uninsured citizens who made use of emergency rooms and other medical facilities. We have paid this price through taxation and through higher insurance premiums. The mandate is one method of diffusing that cost and ultimately making healthcare more affordable for everyone. However, it is possible that we will have to revisit this and explore a more effective and less invasive way of assuring that everyone who needs coverage has affordable access to it.
William Biggs says
All of Obamacare should be thrown out, allowing the best medical system in the world to continue serving citizens. Do these candidates realize that both Great Britain and Canada, which have government-run health care, are trying to privatize parts of their programs? Obamacare is just another in this president’s attempts to control all aspects of our lives..
Carla Massoni says
Thank you Spy for this Forum. Please continue.
DLaMotte says
Only in this country would it be considered “UnAmerican” for affordable health care for all.
Keep it coming Mr. Obama…thank you for encouraging health care for everyone!
Joe Lill says
A healthy population has as much strategic importance to this Country as the number of soldiers in our Army, the number of ships in our Navy, or the number of planes in our Air Force. Though not perfect, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an example of a Ready,Fire, Aim piece of legislation that has been talked about for a long time. Even the conservative Heritage Foundation saw the benefits of universal health care. Now that the legislation has passed, we can take a more perfect aim and compromise to work out the bugs.
Cheryl Everman says
Unfortunately we do not have the best health system in the world, as Mr. Biggs claims. We have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, and are ranked 29th in outcomes. We do have the most expensive system, however. There are many forms of universal healthcare. Totally socialized approaches, such as those in Canada and England, have their drawbacks. Germany and Japan have better approaches that meld public and private, with the government taking the role of negotiator in terms of healthcare pricing. Studies have shown that the biggest issue in healthcare in the US is cost, which is whatever the market will bear. Do you get your care repaired without a quote? No. But when you get sick, the cost of treament is never even a discussion point. How much could the cost of healthcare be reduced if the cost of training physicians was paid for by the government? Just a thought.