Posted on 07/31/2007 9:52:42 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
Rudy Giuliani's Health Plan: 'Take Care of Yourself'
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday offered a consumer-oriented solution to the nation's health care woes that relies on giving individuals tax credits to purchase private insurance.
Critical to Giuliani's plan is a $15,000 tax deduction for families to buy private health insurance, instead of getting insurance through employers. Any leftover funds could be rolled over year-to-year for medical expenses.
Campaigning in this first primary state, Giuliani said his goal is to give individuals more control over their health care. The former New York mayor said as more people buy plans, insurers will drop their prices, making insurance affordable to those who lack it now.
"Government cannot take care of you. You've got to take care of yourself," he said. "As more of us do that, the cheaper it will become and the higher in quality it becomes."
Giuliani offered the broad outline of his plan but his campaign did not provide many specifics, including the estimated cost.
Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama have proposed more detailed steps to deal with the 47 million Americans lacking health insurance. Edwards' plan has an individual mandate requiring all Americans to have coverage. Employers would have to share the cost of insuring workers or pay into a public program.
Edwards estimates that his plan would cost $90 billion to $120 billion per year and would be financed by repealing President Bush's tax cuts on those making more than $200,000 per year.
Obama's plan calls for the creation of a public program similar to the health plan offered to federal employees, and a National Health Insurance Exchange for consumers to shop among private plans. Employers would have to share the cost of insuring workers.
Obama estimates his plan would cost $50 billion to $65 billion per year, paid for by letting Bush's tax cuts expire on those making more than $250,000 per year.
Giuliani used his appearance to continue criticizing the Democratic candidates, contending that their plans amount to socialized medicine.
"We've got to solve our health care problem with American principles, not the principles of socialism," he said. "I know Democrats will say this is unfair, I know they'll squeal... But I'm a realist. I face reality, which is: if you take more people and have government cover it, it's called socialized medicine."
He argued that Edwards' plan would cost twice what the Democratic candidate estimated.
Giuliani also spoke in favor of tort reform, saying those who are legitimately injured by doctors should be compensated, but damages should be capped and those who file frivolous lawsuits should have to pay the physician's legal fees.
"If a person gets injured, he should be compensated, but he shouldn't get the brass ring or win the lottery," Giuliani said.
The New Yorker leads in several national polls, but trails Republican rival Mitt Romney by double digits in a recent New Hampshire survey
On the surface, it sounds like a good idea.
Sounds like a good plan. Relying on government to take care of you is just stupid.
I presume the democrats position, at least for this election, is “feed yourself”. How heartless. How cruel.
No thanks Rudy, you can take your healthcare schemes and shove it.
Oh... my.. gosh. Someone *actually* said something in the line of *personal responsibility*. About damn time.
Rudy's comments are excellent and I'm glad he finally uttered the socialism word - but again, conservatives aren't going to trust the guy. Rudy is just damaged goods. I do wish the other GOP candidates would start criticizing the Rats like this, though.
It's a good one.
Bah. Just sign me up for the same healthcare plan Congress has. That’ll do.
That will include 100% of the expenditures now made for Veterans Administration, public employee health plans, welfare related health plans, Medicare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, etc.
Veterans and the elderly will go to the back of the line for a lesser quality of service. Government workers will take a serious pay cut, as will private sector retirees who will continue to pay premiums for less service.
CDC will go out of business among other things.
All of the plans propose spending everything primarily on the health of young professionals and workers and their children.
Giuliani is a lifelong liberal.
Never trust any liberal.
CALL A CODE STAT I think I'm going to have a heart attack - I ACTUALLY HEARD SOMETHING FROM THE LITTEL FASCIST POS THAT I DIDN'T TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH. Of course even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
18 years? Uh, Rudy still supported abortions & taxpayer funding thereof as recently as April of this year.
My health plan for America:
eat less. drive less and walk more.
Cost? $0. Actually you’ll save money otherwise spent on food and gas
If the $15,000 per family tax break is paid for by an equal reduction in government expenitures (thus no increase in taxes to make up for it), then I’m for this.
But we all know that will not happen.
Thus, the $15,000 per family tax break is really an insurance allotment. From the government. Everyone pays more taxes so that the government can hand out more candy.
No thanks. My employer and I have a deal. I work hard, they pay my insurance. No government involvement.
Rudy is still a socialist.
I’d bet a body part taxpayers paid for his prostate cancer treatment.
Rudy, for so many reasons, is a horrible choice as a candidate.
Yes, it does.
If it came from even a vaguely credible source, I'd be glad to hear it. From Rudy, it's just more flip-flop pandering, meaningless words totally at odds with his entire career.
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