Democratic Presidential Candidates Agree on Expansion of Health Insurance During Last Debate in Iowa

Six Democratic presidential candidates on Thursday during a debate in Johnston, Iowa, sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television discussed health care and other issues, the New York Times reports (Healy/Zeleny, New York Times, 12/14). According to the Washington Post, the candidates "found general agreement by promising" that they would expand health insurance to all U.S. residents (Kornblut/Balz, Washington Post, 12/14).

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) said she "learned a lot" from her efforts to expand health insurance to all residents in the 1990s. She added, "Clearly one of the principal lessons is that you have to have a very strong communication strategy, and we didn't do that." In addition, Clinton said that as president she would ask Congress to "send me everything that Bush vetoed, like stem cell research" and SCHIP bills (New York Times, 12/14).

Former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) said that previous efforts to expand health insurance to all residents have failed because "we have a small group of entrenched interests, corporate powers, corporate greed, the wealthiest people in America, who are controlling what's happening in the democracy." Edwards added, "And we have to take it back" (Beaumont, Des Moines Register, 12/14).

Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) said that he would eliminate $20 billion in annual defense spending to fund health care programs.

Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.), Barack Obama (Ill.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also participated in the debate. The debate, moderated by Register editor Carolyn Washburn, marked the last forum that will feature all of the Democratic candidates before the Iowa caucuses next month (Thomma, McClatchy/Miami Herald, 12/13).

A CNN transcript of the debate is available online (CNN.com, 12/13). Iowa Public Television video and expanded coverage of the debate also are available online (Iowa Public Television, 12/13).

Broadcast Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on or plan to report on the debate and the issue of health care in the presidential election. Summaries appear below.

• ABC's "20/20": The program on Thursday included a discussion with Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) about health care and other issues (Stossel, "20/20," ABC, 12/13). Video of his comments on health care is available online. Additional video and expanded ABC News coverage also is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "All Things Considered": The program on Thursday reported on comments made by the Democratic presidential candidates on health care and other issues during the debate. The segment includes comments from Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Edwards, Richardson, Obama and Washburn (Horsley, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/13). Audio of the segment is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "Morning Edition": The program on Friday reported on reaction to the debate from Democratic voters in Iowa (Wertheimer, "Morning Edition," NPR, 12/14). Audio of the segment is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "Talk of the Nation": The first hour of the program on Friday is scheduled to include a discussion about the issue of health care in the presidential election. Scheduled guests include Donald Berwick, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement; Laurence Kotlikoff, an author and professor of economics at Boston University; Fred Ralston, chair of the Health and Public Policy Committee at the American College of Physicians; and Uwe Reinhardt, a professor of political economy at Princeton University ("Talk of the Nation" Web site, 12/14). Additional details about the segment are available online. A broadcast schedule also is available online. Audio will be available after the broadcast.