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Health Care Isn't a Third Rail Anymore

Dems eady to tackle universal health care again—and GOP is notably silent

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted May 30, 2007 12:24 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Thirteen years after Hillary-Care, politicians are ready to think big again about the US health care system, the Wall Street Journal reports. Skyrocketing costs and the rising ranks of the uninsured are combining to form a climate where candidates feel that they can tackle the issue without political backlash—even if it means taking on insurance, medical, and pharmaceutical lobbies.

All three Democratic presidential frontrunners have unveiled universal health care proposals. Obama and Edwards would use a rollback of tax cuts for the wealthy to pay for their programs. And Republicans candidates have been notably shy about blasting these big-government plans. Giuliani doesn't even list health care as one of his top ten issues.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., outlines her proposals to reform the high cost of health care in America as she addresses medical students at George Washington University in Washington, Thursday, May 24, 2007. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., outlines her proposals to reform the high cost of health care in America as she addresses medical students at George Washington University...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with Dr. Mark Anderson while touring a cardiology research lab before speaking about his health care plan, Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Obama on Tuesday unveiled a health care plan that he...
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talks with Dr. Mark Anderson while touring a cardiology research lab before speaking about his health care plan, Tuesday, May 29, 2007,...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, right, listens as his wife Elizabeth Edwards, foreground, introduces him at the Vinton Public Library in Vinton, Iowa, Saturday, May 26, 2007. Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, is making a weekend-long swing through Iowa to outline his policy called the sacred contract. It aims...
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, right, listens as his wife Elizabeth Edwards, foreground, introduces him at the Vinton Public Library in Vinton, Iowa, Saturday, May 26, 2007. Edwards, a...   (Associated Press)
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health care • Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • John Edwards • Democrats • universal health care • Hillary Care • Election 2008

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