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Develop a health plan that every American can take
advantage of and afford without instituting an individual mandate.
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Make patients the center of care through preventive
care and require transparency by providers regarding medical outcomes,
quality of care and costs.
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Develop national standards for measuring and recording
treatments and outcomes.
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Give states flexibility and encouragement in experimenting
with health care reform initiatives.
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Allow people to buy insurance across state lines.
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Provide tax incentives for low-income people so
they can afford to buy health coverage. All individuals would receive
a $2,500 refundable tax credit (up to $5,000 for a family) for insurance
coverage. Any tax-credit funds remaining after the purchase of health
insurance could be deposited into a Health Savings Account. Under
such a scenario, the employer tax deduction stays in place, but
the employee now loses the tax exclusion for health insurance, which
is replaced by a refundable tax credit.
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Expand community health centers and clinics in retail
outlets.
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Believes SCHIP and other public health programs
should be limited to low-income residents only.
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Foster the development of safe and cheaper generic
drugs and biologics, including the importation of drugs from foreign
countries to keep prices competitive.
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Put health care online and encourage telemedicine.
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Address public health initiatives such as obesity,
diabetes and smoking.
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Allow purchasing pools and association health plans
as a means of obtaining portable and affordable health insurance.
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Address medical malpractice reform.
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Make Health Savings Accounts more available.
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Will act to control Medicare growth by enacting
comprehensive health care reforms that will reduce the growth in
Medicare spending, protect seniors against rising Medicare premium
payments, and preserve the advancements in medical science central
to providing quality care.
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Work to advance federal research into autism, promote
early screening, and identify better treatment options, while providing
support for children with autism so that they may reach their full
potential.
