Obama, McCain take different approaches to health care reform  Posted Aug. 29, 2008 — While more children are getting health care, thanks to government programs nationwied, there’s still some 60 million people who are not covered by any insurance plan, which begs the question: What are the presidential candidates really offering in the way of a national health care plan?

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Posted June 7, 2008 – Shouldn’t there be a bigger uproar about the differences in healthcare that Blacks receive nationwide? A large, new study of Medicare patients is the latest to demonstrate the differences between Black and White care, particularly in the South. The study by researchers at the Dartmouth University Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice’s Atlas of Health Care project found that Blacks were less likely than Whites to receive recommended care within various regions of the country, particularly the south. The report released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the New York Times also found a seven percent difference in the amount of mammograms among older Black and White women on Medicare. What’s even more disturbing is that Black diabetics were found to be more likely to get their legs amputated, and less likely to have their blood tested for sugar. “These findings underscore the importance of the local health care system as the focus for efforts to improve care,” Elliott Fisher, director of Dartmouth’s Center for Health Policy Research, said in a statement “In some regions of the country, African-Americans receive care equal to that of Whites, but the care for everyone is well below the national average.” If Blacks on Medicare, who are supposed to be getting the same care because they’re insured, aren’t getting the care should have, what does that say for healthcare for the rest of us? Other studies this year have also pointed out disparities in health care coverage, particularly for people who are uninsured – and African Americans are more likely to lack health insurance than Whites. In fact, Only 13 percent of non-Hispanic White Americans is uninsured, compared with 36 percent of Hispanics, 33 percent of Native Americans and 22 percent of Blacks. An underlying current in all of these studies, though, is that even if at some point universal healthcare becomes the law of the land and everyone gets covered, more still will need to be done to make the coverage we have equal.  Universal coverage is not going to improve Black health unless it’s the same treatment across the board and is accomanied by a large dose of health education and follow-up. There is some good news about the Dartmouth study. Many of the areas with unequal care will be getting some of the $300 million the Roberts Woods Johnson Foundation put up to stamp out healthcare inequities.

All the flack over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and whether the Democratic super delegates will swing toward Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton has pulled attention away from strategies to fix the national health care system. But the fact that there are 47 million uninsured Americans means the issue is bound to become more important once the parties’ nominees are chosen.

So let’s  start talking issues. I’m posting links to each of the candidates’ positions on health care and health insurance.

John McCain has an entire sub-site dedicated to healthcare, with a video that’s prominently displayed. Of course he’s taking a free-market approach; he is a Republican.

Hillary Clinton’s site has position papers with a video down at the bottom of the page. But she talks specifically about ways her plan will help African Americans and women

Barack Obama’s position paper is here. He also has a list of frequently asked questions that explains how his proposal will affect ordinary Americans.