Edwards: Health firms cannot be appeased

[JohnLocke]

Edwards: Health firms cannot be appeased
By Holly Ramer--Monday, July 30, 2007
Associated Press
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While two of his Democratic rivals argue over how they would negotiate with hostile countries, presidential candidate John Edwards is focused on hostile insurance and drug companies.

The former North Carolina senator told hundreds of supporters in a sunny Canterbury backyard yesterday that he disagrees with other candidates who believe the best way to overhaul the health care system is to negotiate with insurers and pharmaceutical companies. Those groups will not give up their power voluntarily, he said.

"I've been fighting these people my whole life and have beaten them my whole life," said Edwards, a former trial lawyer. "I think the time to talk to them is after you've beaten them."

Edwards has proposed requiring employers to provide insurance or contribute to the coverage of every worker. The government would pay for insurance for lower-income people and subsidize what other families pay. He also would cap the amount insurance companies can charge for profit or overhead at 15 percent and would pay for the $90 billion to $120 billion a year plan by repealing President Bush's tax cuts for people who make more than $200,000 a year.

"How long are we going to let insurance companies and drug companies run this country?" he said.
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http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070730/REPOSITORY/707300345/1043/NEWS01