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Erskine Bowles (D)
Last week, Bowles' website issued the 12-point health care plan Bowles has proposed in recent speeches (Livingston, 2004). His plan emphasizes increasing health insurance coverage and reversing the rising costs of various components of health care, without necessitating more taxes. To increase coverage, he proposes federal funding to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover children in families under 300% of the federal poverty level. He proposes tax credits to unemployed adults under 250% to help, temporarily, pay for their former employer coverage. To curb the costs of prescription drugs, he supports allowing Medicare officials to negotiate drug prices and "reimporting" safe prescription drugs (5-6). He also supports new embryonic stem cell lines, passing a Patient's Bill of Rights, and placing court costs on plaintiffs whose "lawsuit is found to be frivoulous" (12) (Bowles, 2004).
Bowle's position seems to represent and respond substantively to many various constituents. He tries to represent directly the health care interests of the 1.2 million North Carolinians (of 8 million) without health insurance (NCSDS), outlining his policies in some detail. He also makes appeals to particular groups of constituents, including low-income, racial minority (25% of population), and rural citizens, women, veterans and national gaurd and reservists (Bowles, 2004). His attention to facts and specific constituent groups demonstrates how well he represents.
Richard Burr (R)
Burr's campaign website frames the issue as "complex and unique" and speaks generally about government's role in giving participants in the "health care marketplace...the tools and ability to achieve their best outcomes." More specifically, he first emphasizes the need for caps ($250,000) on punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice suits in order to lower the cost of insurance for doctors, and subsequently the costs of services for patients (Ingram, 2004). On lowering the costs of prescription drugs, Burr mentions support for the Medicare drug benefit, "[helping] the uninsured enroll in plans with a drug benefit," and diplomatic approaches with countries who price control medications (Burr, Campaign, 2004). In a survey, Burr indicates support for the Patient's Bill of Rights and does not support creating new lines of stem cells for research.
Burr's campaign seems to respresent more descriptively than substantively the interests of most NCarolinians. His congressional website states his beliefs and observations about recent health care trends. He hopes his work connects with everyone's desire to acheive "accessible, high quality, comprehensive, and affordable health care." His campaign website responds more directly to healthcare providers and health insurance companies, but moslty tries to associate Burr's hopes and beliefs abuot healthcare and government with that of his constituents.
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Created: 9/14/2004. Updated: 9/15/2004