Elizabeth Edwards discusses health care reform during her keynote speech at Health Journalism 2008 in Washington, D.C. (MP3; 10.7 MB)
Read more about Edward's speech.
Read more about the candidates' views on health care issues.
Related
• McCain's statement on the underinsured
• Obama's statement on the underinsured
• How Many Are Underinsured? Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2003 and 2007 (Commonwealth Fund)
Elizabeth Edwards, health care reform advocate and wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, is now advising Sen. Barack Obama's campaign on health care issues and is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress where she works on health care issues. In her keynote speech at Health Journalism 2008 in Washington, D.C., Edwards discussed differences between the plans offered by Sen. John McCain, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.
Her talk outlines some important differences, as well as the questions that reporters should be asking the candidates about health care.
Edwards said McCain isn't telling the truth about health care. She pointed to language on his Web site that refers to "building national markets by permitting providers to practice nationwide" and bringing costs under control. She said the language sounds good, but pointed out that different states, such as Delaware and Nevada, have widely varying regulations for corporations and that his plan would allow health plans to be based in states with fewer mandates. The McCain plan, according to Edwards, would allow consumers to buy cheaper insurance from companies in less-regulated states but then they will have issues with pre-existing conditions or have high deductibles.
She described McCain as "trying to give companies a pass on regulation by allowing a national playing field." But, she said, the problem is that the voters know nothing about the regulations.
