If you could ask a presidential candidate any healthcare policy question, what would it be?

I am the new chair of the legislative committee of the National Student Nurses Association. I hope to interview each of the Presidential candidates on their healthcare policies in the next year, and I'd love input on more questions that need to be asked!

Ask Hillary how she intends to avoid having our taxes at 50 or 60% like other nations with rich national healthcare plans. Ask how she intends to avoid having the 3-6 month wait for surgeries like other nations have. Ask her how much coverage we're gonna give to illegal aliens. Ask her how we'll keep more illegals from coming here for rich benefits like other nations.

I would like to ask HITLARy what ever happened to that national healthcare plan that she spent millions trying to put together, then chucked the whole idea.

where are you going to get the funds Hillary?

I would ask them what they would do or are Planning to do about Medical Aparteid that affects women and minorites. Nobody wants Socialized health care!

Why is it that we can spend billions of dollars on a war and can't provide every American with Health care? Where is the compassion?

I'd ask John McCain how he got so damn perfect. He is republican, and he said that we would allow a $3000 tax return to low income families so they could afford insurance. What a genius. I love him <3

What kind of tort reform do you propose to keep the medical field and pharmaceuticals from being hostage to lawyers and to having so many outrageous suits against them?

Given that government bureaucracies tend to be less efficient than private companies... How can it be guaranteed that any government health care program is not going to cost us far more than private healthcare.

When is goo health care going to be for all.,. and not just the rich?

Wow! Sounds like a wonderful opportunity you have to ask some important questions to potential policymakers.

Personally, if I had a lot of courage I'd certainly ask something like the following:

Do you beleive that every person in this great country of ours should have some level of basic health care - as is the case in many other industrialized nations around the world? Today, many millions of Americans are without healthcare coverage of any kind. Do you not find that unjust and disturbing in a country as rich as ours?

All the best,
from Matthew (a nursing student from Canada - where universal health care to every citizen has been a wonderful part of our lives (and proud part of our national identity as Canadians) for many decades now.

If you decide to ask a question of this nature to the candidates and any of them try to say that a for-profit delivery system is somehow a better way to run healthcare, then please be aware of the following:

A recent study published in the new online medical journal Open Medicine, at http://www.openmedicine.ca/article/view/...
was entitled:
A systematic review of studies comparing health outcomes in Canada and the United States
Vol 1, No 1 (2007) author: Guyatt

This study found that while expenses to run the medical system in the U.S. are far higher overall (perhaps this is the profit made in the system?) than in Canada, the results (i.e quality) of treatment are much the same.

Best of luck and success to you,

Matthew