John Kerry's position on

Medicare/Medicaid: Medicare and Medicaid were both established in 1965 by the Social Security Act. Medicaid is a program that pays for medical assistance for certain families and individuals with low incomes and resources. Link. Medicare is a program for people 65 and older, some people under 65 with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (a permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant). Link. Reforms for both of these programs have been demanded by the public, and in 2003 President Bush signed into law the Medicare Modernization Act, which is hailed by some as a great revision to Medicare but to others is considered a bad piece of policy.

Description of candidate's position: Kerry supports a drug benefit that would not make seniors turn to HMOs. He also supports a program run by Medicare instead of private companies. His plan also helps protect Medicaid, allowing seniors more options by allowing Medicaid to pay for alternative care options. Kerry also supports the reimportation of safe, FDA-approved drugs from Canada and other countries. Link.

Quotation from the candidate: "And John Edwards and I have a plan for a real prescription drug benefit for seniors and to cut the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans. We'll make health care more affordable by cutting the waste and greed out of our health care system, by saving the average family up to $1,000 a year on their premiums, and by letting seniors buy safe and affordable drugs from Canada. We believe that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it's a right for all Americans." September 14, 2004, Link.

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: New America Foundation, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit public policy institute, agrees with the policy ideas of Kerry. They view the solution to the Medicare problem is to make improvements and expansions of Medicare through the route of universal health coverage, making it a stable foundation for providing health care for all Americans. Link.

Negative: According to experts with the Heritage Foundation, a research and education institute, Kerry's proposal is more of a 'principle' than an actual 'proposal' as it is too expensive to be practical. While it would be expanded to more Americans, it would not be expanded to as many as Kerry claims, and would cost far more than the Kerry campaign claims. Link.

Comparison: Bush supports the Medicare Modernization Act, which was signed into law in 2003. Kerry does not support this act, stating that it only inflates the prices of drugs and puts money into the pockets of the prescription drug companies. Kerry's plan is to expand coverage to more Americans, making Medicare a more universal health care coverage in America. Link.

Link to Bush's issue page