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Mike Huckabee on Health Care
This candidate has withdrawn from the election
Indicate which principles you support regarding health issues: - Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary. - Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2002
He is against universal health insurance coverage and says that the U.S. needs a system "where there are incentives for healthy behavior and for management of one's health-care expenses."
Q: What's the biggest difference or two that you see between the Democratic and Republican fields? HUCKABEE: The Republicans want to win the war in Iraq; the Democrats just want to get out. That's the big difference on Iraq. The 2nd difference I see is that the Democrats really want the government to be in charge of things like health care. They want them to be more responsible for choices about our doctors. And I think Republicans still want every individual consumer to be making those very critical decisions about "Who is my doctor and what treatment I'm going to get and where am I going to get it.
CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer (presidential series) Jun 10, 2007
"We don't need universal health care mandated by federal edict or funding to ever-higher taxes. But what we do need to get serious about is preventative health care, instead of just chasing more and more dollars to treat chronic disease that's often avoidable."
"Either give every American the same kind of healthcare that Congress has or make Congress have the same kind of healthcare that every American has. They'll get it fixed. And the issue in this country is that we really have an incredible problem because our system is upside down. It focuses on intervention at the catastrophic level of disease rather than really focusing on prevention. So we've got a system no matter how much money we pour into it, we're not going to fix it."
Although the Governors are extremely sensitive to the concerns of large multi-state employers, the fact remains that the complete federal preemption of state laws relating to employee health plans in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the greatest single barrier to many state reform and patient protection initiatives. The Governors support efforts designed to enable small employers to join together to participate more effectively in the health insurance market. In fact, Governors have taken the lead in facilitating the development of such partnerships and alliances. However, these partnerships must be carefully structured and regulated by state agencies in order to protect consumers and small businesses from fraud and abuse and underinsurance. NGA opposes attempts to expand federal authority under ERISA. The Governors have identified the prevention of such federal legislation in the 107th Congress as a top legislative priority. States have the primary responsibility for health insurance regulation. Across the nation, Governors are working to protect consumers and patients and to properly regulate the complicated health insurance industry.`
National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA13 on Oct 5, 2001
"What we need to do is to move to a prevention rather than intervention. I wish we would get to the place where we would cover the ways that we could be healthier rather than wait until we have catastrophic illnesses that have catastrophic costs."
Q: What's the biggest difference or two that you see between the Democratic and Republican fields? HUCKABEE: The Republicans want to win the war in Iraq; the Democrats just want to get out. That's the big difference on Iraq. The second difference I see is that the Democrats really want the government to be in charge of things like health care. They want them to be more responsible for choices about our doctors. And I think Republicans still want every individual consumer to be making those very critical decisions about "Who is my doctor and what treatment I'm going to get and where am I going to get it."
CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer (presidential series) Jun 10, 2007
"I also value the states' role as laboratories for new market-based approaches, and I will encourage those efforts. As President I will work with the private sector, Congress, health care providers, and other concerned parties to lead a complete overhaul of our health care system, not more of the same, paid for by Uncle Sam at the expense of hard-working families."
"I would further say that one of the challenges we face is that a lot of the Democrats want to turn it over to the government, while the Republicans want to turn it over completely to the private insurance companies. I think the better idea is to turn it over to each individual consumer and let him or her make that choice. I trust me a lot more than I trust government or a lot more than I trust the insurance companies."
2007 GOP primary debate in Orlando, Florida Oct 21, 2007
"I advocate policies that would encourage the private sector to seek innovative ways to bring down cost and prove the market for health care services. I also value the state's role as laboratory for new market based approaches and would encourage those efforts."
The ARKids First program has been successful in insuring more than 60,000 children. Many actually welcomed the small co-payment that was required since it gave them a sense of responsibility and a feeling of not being on welfare. I am convinced it is less expensive to prevent a problem than it is to try and fix it once it has grown into something much larger. The value of ARKids First will be easier to see as children grow up not having missed school because of chronic illness. Is it costly? It is not as costly as having large numbers of sick children.
Character Makes a Difference, by Mike Huckabee, p.162-163 Jun 1, 2007
We can make health care more affordable by reforming medical liability; adopting electronic record keeping; making health insurance more portable from one job to another; expanding health savings accounts to everyone, not just those with high deductibles; and making health insurance tax deductible for individuals and families as it now is for businesses. Low income families would get tax credits instead of deductions. We don't need all the government controls that would inevitably come with universal health care.
Although the Governors are extremely sensitive to the concerns of large multi-state employers, the fact remains that the complete federal preemption of state laws relating to employee health plans in the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the greatest single barrier to many state reform and patient protection initiatives. The Governors support efforts designed to enable small employers to join together to participate more effectively in the health insurance market. In fact, Governors have taken the lead in facilitating the development of such partnerships and alliances. However, these partnerships must be carefully structured and regulated by state agencies in order to protect consumers and small businesses from fraud and abuse and underinsurance. NGA opposes attempts to expand federal authority under ERISA. The Governors have identified the prevention of such federal legislation in the 107th Congress as a top legislative priority. States have the primary responsibility for health insurance regulation. Across the nation, Governors are working to protect consumers and patients and to properly regulate the complicated health insurance industry.
National Governors Association "Issues / Positions" 01-NGA13 on Oct 5, 2001
It is time to recognize that jobs don't need health insurance, people do, and to ease the burden on our businesses. Our employer-based system has outlived its usefulness, but the answer is a consumer-based system, not socialized medicine.