And here is Wesley Clarks health plan. He bases it on the sort of care he got in the army, which makes sense. This is from a speech on October 28, 2003.
"One of the great benefits to the health plan I had in the Army was that it emphasized prevention at every step along the way - from annual physicals, to cholesterol screenings, to routine check-ups. The Army recognized from the start the potential of early diagnosis and prevention to lengthen lives and reduce health care costs. Frankly, when I got out of the Army, I was surprised to learn how many health plans didn't require preventive screenings of any kind.
My plan promotes prevention, diagnosis, and management of health and disease by working to ensure that all Americans have access to and incentives to use recommended preventive services that would diagnose diseases early, improve health and constrain long-term costs.
It also reorients the health system towards payment of services that have value. My plan puts its trust in independent health clinicians rather than HMO executives or pharmaceutical company marketers to conduct clinical research comparisons to help identify what works best.
It would also evaluate and promote the proper role and use of cost sharing to reduce excessive and expensive utilization - as well as to avoid "under insurance," which can be caused by excessive deductibles or co-payments. The information produced by these independent experts - who would have no monetary conflicts -- would help all purchasers of health care make informed choices about what services produce the best medical outcomes. This would protect and promote health as well as guard against wasteful and potentially harmful spending.
As we improve care, we must be certain to make it more affordable for taxpayers, enrollees, businesses, and federal, state, and local governments. To this end, I would institute competitive bidding for Medicare services; remove legal loopholes that block high quality, more affordable generic drugs from coming to the market; promote responsible malpractice reform; and aggressively pursue and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the system. Where we can make our health care systems more responsive to the medical and cost needs of our people, we should not hesitate to do so."
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