Healthy News for Health Care Voters

Well folks, the New York Times has declared that the 2008 presidential process is going to basically be a single-issue election surrounding the state of the United States' health care system. Yes, though we're still sixteen months away from November 4th, the residual spirit from Michael Moore's new documentary Sicko as well as the continuous pressure from the general electorate has yielded promises from almost all candidates--Republican and Democrat--to overhaul the health care system and ensure insurance coverage for all Americans. However, the Republican and Democrat strategy differ: "Republicans, by and large, promise to expand coverage by using a variety of tax incentives to empower consumers to buy it themselves, from private insurers...[while] many Democrats also see a strong role for government, including, in some plans, new requirements that individuals obtain insurance and that employers provide it, along with substantial new government spending to subsidize coverage for people who cannot afford it."

Though it seems a bit premature to assume the 2008 elections will only address health care, Americans' concerns are rightfully understood. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, insurance premiums have risen in cost by 87% since 2000, while a National Center for Education Statistics report states that one in three 18 to 29-year-olds in America lack health insurance coverage.

Though we'll undoubtedly hear a book's worth more on each candidate's health care plan, below are each candidate's statement so far. If a candidate lacked a statement on health care on their website, the link goes to either a nonpartisan article or something the candidate authored which was not placed on their website:
DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Bill Richardson
John Edwards
Christopher Dodd
Dennis Kucinich
Joe Biden
Mike Gravel
REPUBLICANS
Rudy Giuliani
Fred Thompson
Duncan Hunter
Jim Gilmore
Jim Cox
Mitt Romney
John McCain
Ron Paul
Mike Huckabee
Sam Brownback
Tom Tancredo
Tommy Thompson