Building one America — through tax-funded health care

Several months ago, I met a man named James Lowe in Wise, Va. James spent the first 50 years of his life without a voice because he didn’t have health care. All he needed was a simple operation to fix a cleft palate. It’s unacceptable that a working man in the richest country in the world could not speak for 50 years because he couldn’t pay for a $3,000 operation.

In my many visits to Nevada I have heard similar stories from Nevadans who are working hard but struggling to find and keep quality, affordable health care. Almost half a million Nevadans don’t have health insurance. And even those who do have it are worried about how they’re going to pay for it — and whether it will be enough to pay their bills in a crisis.

In Nevada and across the country, families as well as businesses are being squeezed by rising health care costs. Too many families are one major illness away from financial disaster.

To fix this crisis, we don’t need an incremental shift, we need a fundamental change. We need truly universal health care. For more than 20 years, Democrats have talked about universal health care, but have gotten nowhere because the big insurance companies, drug companies, HMOs and their lobbyists have spent millions to block real reform.

We need to stop defending a broken system in Washington and build one America, with one health system where every American can get decent, affordable health care. I have a bold plan to stand up to the big drug and insurance companies and finally guarantee true universal health care while cutting costs for families and employers.

Under my plan, businesses will either cover their employees or help pay their premiums. The government will make insurance affordable through new tax credits and by leading the way toward more cost-effective care. New “Health Care Markets” will give families and businesses purchasing power and a choice of quality plans, including one public plan. Finally, once these steps have been taken, all American residents will be required to take responsibility and get insurance.

Families without insurance will get coverage at an affordable price, and families that have insurance will pay less and get more security and choices. Employers will find it cheaper and easier to insure their workers. And because every American will have quality health care, unions will no longer be forced to give up all the leverage they have in negotiations, just to keep the benefits they’ve already earned. My plan will save an average family up to $2,500 a year and eliminate $130 billion of wasted health care spending each year.

To show Congress how serious I am, as president I will tell them that if they don’t pass universal health care by July 2009 — six months after I take office — I’m going to do everything in my power to take their health care away. There’s no excuse for politicians in Washington having health care when nearly 500,000 Nevadans do not.

We need to be honest about the cost of universal health care. My plan costs $90 billion to $120 billion a year. I will pay for it by repealing President Bush’s income tax cuts for Americans who make more than $200,000 per year.

Other candidates may disagree with this aspect of my plan, but I believe affordable, guaranteed health care for working people is more important than tax breaks for the wealthy. I also believe you can’t say you have a serious plan for health care unless you have a plan to actually pay for it.

My plan also makes the system more efficient. Today, 30 cents of every dollar spent on health care goes toward administration and system waste. I will require insurers to spend at least 85 percent of their premiums on patient care so insurance companies can’t pocket the savings from reform instead of delivering more to patients.

It’s time for a new era in chronic and preventive care. Helping patients and providers manage chronic illnesses and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations can improve health, while reducing costs. We can save lives and dollars by investing in technology, providing incentives for quality, reducing medical errors and creating a knowledge bank that makes doctors aware of preventable mistakes.

No one should go for 50 years without being able to speak because they cannot afford health insurance. America is better than that. Now is the time to fight for a new direction. With the courage and strength to take on powerful interests and propose bold ideas, we can bring down health care costs for families and businesses and make sure every man, woman and child gets the care they need and deserve.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Reid Edwards, a trial lawyer, was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004.