Edwards: Repeal top-tier tax cuts to pay for health care (including full mental health parity)

[JohnLocke]

Edwards: Repeal top-tier tax cuts to pay for health care
By Chris Dorsey --IowaPolitics.com
Saturday, March 10, 2007
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NEWTON--The United States has a moral duty to provide health care to the 47 million uninsured people in this country and to offer insurance access to all Americans, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards told a crowd of more than 250 Saturday in Newton.

"I want to fill in the deficiencies and make sure everyone is covered," Edwards said. "There are a lot of huge gaps in the health care system. If you lose your job or change jobs, I want to make sure everyone is covered."

Newton was Edwards' third stop on a two-day swing through Iowa to discuss his universal health care plan. He spent Friday in Council Bluffs and Sioux City -- the former senator's first visits to those Iowa cities since announcing his candidacy for president in December in Des Moines.

However, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee knows he has his work cut out for him. He said following the town hall meeting at the UAW Hall that getting the insurance companies on board will be one of his biggest challenges. If elected, Edwards said implementing the universal health care plan for all Americans would be a priority -- one he envisions to be fully in place by 2012.

Edwards plans to pay for the program by repealing President George W. Bush tax cuts to the wealthy. He estimates the health care program to cost between $90 billion and $120 billion annually.

"I want to be honest with you," Edwards said about the cost. "When other presidential candidates come through ask how much it will cost (when they talk about universal health care)."

Paying for the health care program could hinder addressing other issues such as the deficit, Edwards said. If other candidates say they can address all of them, then that could be a daunting task, the 2004 Iowa Caucus second-place finisher said in January in Iowa City.
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Edwards' plan would also provide full mental health parity, long-term care and preventative care -- many areas currently not available by some providers.

Being the first candidate to offer a complete plan on universal health care, Edwards said he knows he is sticking himself out on a limb. He recently sent that plan to many Iowans in the form of a letter with an accompanying DVD.

"You will know where I stand," he said.
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Changing the mindset about global warming also needed to be addressed immediately, he said.

"We need to develop a global solution to a global problem," Edwards said. "This is an emergency. We have to start dealing with it now. It is time for the president of the United States to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than the war."
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