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Medical Care
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Commit to reducing overall health care funding while also finding ways to make health care more available but less expensive both to patients and to taxpayers.
- Explore a national health insurance program in such a way that continues to foster competition in the marketplace while offering less expensive comprehensive and catastrophic medical coverage than is currently available through private insurance.
- Divert public resources to community health clinics where costs are lower and basic services can be made available to lower-income communities.
- Stop requiring hospitals to provide free treatment to those who cannot pay, except for emergency cases where lifesaving action is required before a patient is properly admitted and stabilized. Reduce the hospital's obligation to that of providing inexpensive treatment only, because the high cost burden on them due to the free services is forcing some of them to close their ER or to even close down completely due to insolvency.
Free Choice Issues
- Do not require private pharmacists or drug stores to fill prescriptions they object to, such as for contraceptives, or to dispense any other items they object to for reasons of conscience or any reason whatever. If need be, they can be required to post a sign listing the drug items they choose not to deal in. (This would not apply to pharmacists or drug stores that receive government funding or service government contracts, or to those located within hospitals.)
- Let physician-assisted suicide be a legal option for patients.
Ending Medical Corporate Welfare
- Repeal federal investment in prescription drug companies (i.e., grants, special loans, tax incentives, and lawsuit protection) that is not for legitimate research serving science and all of industry generally.
- End subsidies to health insurance companies, such as tax deductions for insurance or tax benefits to employers that insure their workers, and instead seek a cost-effective form of health insurance based mainly on prevention and cost vs. benefit analysis.
- Repeal President Bush's prescription drug benefit program. For any prescription drug program, include provision for the government to negotiate for lower prices with pharmaceutical companies. Avoid any program which pays subsidies to companies or defrays the cost of drugs at taxpayer expense.