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Mike Gravel on Health Care

Possibly the largest domestic issue in 2008, health care is a problem that is universally recognized and answered with a diversity of prescriptions from the candidates. Private versus government funded health care and the definition of "universal" care split the candidates across their respective policies. This topic includes information about candidate positions on: universal health care, privatization of health care, government support for health care through tax incentives, and employer assistance in obtaining health care.

The issues

Mike Gravel strongly supports universal health care which provides access to health care regardless of ability to pay

"Under the single-payer health care voucher plan we would issue vouchers to every single American. The vouchers, you don't pay for them, they're issued to you. You sign up every year for them. The vouchers will have a very modest co-pay, a very modest deductible, but that's it. Everybody gets the same product universally. And then if you want more than the product you got, you pay for it. There's no magic in this whole process. Somebody is going to pay. You know who pays, it's the average American."

SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas Mar 24, 2007

Mike Gravel supports increased government spending on health care

"What we have to do is get a voucher system, where everybody in the country gets a voucher. You just sign up for it, you don't pay for it, because we are going to pay for this via a retail sales tax."

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Mike Gravel strongly opposes a market-based, for-profit approach to providing more Americans with health care

Understand that the health care that we're talking about, by and large, is going backwards. We're subsidizing the insurance companies. And all the plans that I've heard of, except Dennis', is a continued subsidization of the insurance companies.

2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University Jun 28, 2007

Mike Gravel strongly supports taxpayer-financed health care for all children under the age of 18

Alaska Senator Mike Gravel advocates a National Health Care Voucher plan in which the government would issue vouchers to every American each year.

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Mike Gravel opposes addressing the healthcare shortage primarily through providing tax deductions and incentives for the uninsured to purchase private health insurance

Under the single-payer health care voucher plan we would issue vouchers to every single American. The vouchers, you don't pay for them, they're issued to you. You sign up every year for them.

SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas Mar 24, 2007

Mike Gravel strongly opposes requiring American employers to cover a significant portion of the health care costs of their employees

"What's wrong with health care in this country is that we saddle the business community with carrying it, and they can't do it because it's going to cost you your jobs, it's going to damage you internationally. Why? Historical accident--[that employers provide health insurance]. In the second World War when wages were frozen, the only way you could get people to come into your company and work was to give them a lot of health care benefits. The war is over and we don't have this freeze on wages, so we don't need that system to go ahead and carry. [Health care reform] involving employers and employees is a non-starter and it's a Band-Aid that is not going to work."

SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas Mar 24, 2007

"We still don't have universal health care, and this is something that can be obtained if we are able to develop the right plans. Presently, what most of the proposals suggest that what we ought to do is charge business more, force them to pay the cost of health care for their employees and then let people go out and pay exorbitant prices to the insurance companies. That's wrong, that's going the wrong way."

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