Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016/Healthcare

Hillary Clinton announced her presidential run on April 12, 2015.^[1]

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Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential nominee
Running mate: Tim Kaine

Election
Democratic National Convention • Polls • Debates • Presidential election by state

On the issues
Domestic affairs • Economic affairs and government regulations • Foreign affairs and national security • Hillarycare • Tenure as U.S. senator • Tenure as secretary of state • Email investigation • Paid speeches • WikiLeaks • Media coverage of Clinton

Other candidates
Donald Trump (R) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

See below what Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Democratic Party Platform said about healthcare.

CANDIDATE SUMMARY
Clinton supported permitting individuals to voluntarily pay to join Medicare and receive health coverage at age 55.
She said that the failure of healthcare reform in the early 1990s was her biggest political regret.
Clinton favored increased funding for autism and Alzheimer's research and treatment.
Under Clinton's affordable healthcare and prescription drug plan, a patient would be able to visit a doctor three times without it counting toward their annual deductible, families ineligible for Medicare would receive a tax credit for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, prescription drugs for patients with chronic or serious health conditions would be capped at $250 per month, and prescription drug imports from Canada would be legal.

Clinton on healthcare

In response to reports that insurance premiums would rise an average of 22 percent in 2017 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Clinton campaign spokesperson Julie Wood released a statement on October 25, 2016. "There's a clear choice in this election: either we're going to help American families and tackle health care cost issues, or we're going to throw 20 million people off their coverage and let the insurance companies write the rules again. Hillary Clinton wants to build on the progress we've made and fix what's broken, while Donald Trump would rip up the ACA, reverse the progress we have made and start this fight all over again," she said.^[2]

Clinton announced a mental health plan on her campaign website on August 29, 2016. A statement from Clinton’s campaign read, “Recognizing that nearly a fifth of all adults in the United States — more than 40 million people — are coping with a mental health problem, Hillary’s plan will integrate our mental and physical health care systems. Her goal is that within her time in office, Americans will no longer separate mental health from physical health when it comes to access to care or quality of treatment. Hillary has been talking about mental health policy throughout her campaign, since hearing directly from American parents, students, veterans, nurses, and police officers about how these challenges keep them up at night.”^[3]

In a statement on August 24, 2016, Clinton called on the pharmaceutical company Mylan, which makes EpiPens, to reduce their product’s cost after reports that the price of EpiPens had increased by 400 percent in recent years. “That's outrageous — and it's just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers. I believe that our pharmaceutical and biotech industries can be an incredible source of American innovation, giving us revolutionary treatments for debilitating diseases. But it's wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them,” said Clinton.^[4]

At the Borinquen Medical Center in Miami, Florida, on August 9, 2016, Clinton called on members of Congress to return from recess and to pass funding to fight the spread of the Zika virus. Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced shortly before Clinton’s remarks that the 21st case of locally transmitted Zika had been confirmed in South Florida. Clinton said, “I am very disappointed that the Congress went on recess before actually agreeing on what they would do to put the resources into this fight, and I really am hoping that they will pay attention. In fact, I would very much urge the leadership of Congress to call people back for a special session and get a bill passed.”^[5]

In a statement on July 9, 2016, Clinton announced that her healthcare platform would include a public-option insurance plan and allow Americans to enroll in Medicare when they turn 55. The statement said Clinton would "affirm her commitment to give Americans in every state the choice of a public-option insurance plan, something she has supported during this campaign and going back to her 2008 presidential campaign.”^[6]

In a June 5, 2016, interview with ABC News, Clinton was asked if she still supported a 25 percent sales tax on guns, as she had during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in 1993. Clinton said, “I'm not going to commit to any specific proposal.” She continued, “What I was saying back then was that we have a lot of public health costs that taxpayers end up paying for through Medicaid, Medicare, through uncompensated care, because that was in the context of the push for healthcare reform and that we needed some way to try to defray those costs.”^[7]

When asked about her greatest political regret on January 27, 2016, Clinton identified failing to pass healthcare reform in the early 1990s. She told AOL.com, “Health care is a basic right. We are 90 percent covered, we gotta get to 100 percent, and then we gotta get cost down and make it work for everybody. And even though we didn't get it then, we've got it now and I'm going to defend it and improve it."^[8]

Clinton released a plan on January 5, 2016, to expand autism insurance and access to early screening. She said that she would also seek to establish the Autism Works Initiative to increase the number of employed people with autism and to launch “the first-ever adult autism prevalence study.”^[9]

Clinton announced her plan to combat Alzheimer’s disease on December 22, 2015, which included an investment of $2 billion per year in research to find a cure by 2025.^[10]

On October 21, 2015, Clinton said she had concerns about Aetna’s planned acquisition of Humana and other mergers between health insurers. "As we see more consolidation in health care, among both providers and insurers, I'm worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers," Clinton said. She continued, "These mergers should be scrutinized very closely with an eye to preventing the undue concentration that they appear to create."^[11]

In an October 19, 2015, letter to the Food and Drug Administration, Clinton said, "I am writing to urge the FDA to do everything in your power consistent with the safety and efficacy of our drugs to bring lower-cost generics to American consumers more quickly and affordably." She wrote that this problem was brought to the forefront by Turing Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of the exclusive right to sell Daraprim, saying, "Turing's decision to artificially increase the price of Daraprim by over 5,000 percent overnight exploits vulnerable patients whose lives depend on access to this critical medication." Clinton also sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, saying, "I urge the FTC to investigate whether Turing's restricted distribution program amounts to anti-competitive behavior in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act."^[12]

On September 29, 2015, Clinton said, “Too many Americans are struggling to meet the cost of rising deductibles and drug prices. That’s why, among other steps, I encourage Congress to repeal the so-called Cadillac tax, which applies to some employer-based health plans, and to fully pay for the cost of repeal."^[13]

In a Facebook question-and-answer session on September 28, 2015, Clinton said she supported requiring pharmaceutical companies to invest in the research and development of generic drugs.^[14]

Clinton released her affordable healthcare and prescription drug platform on September 23, 2015. Under her plan, a patient could visit a doctor three times without it counting toward their annual deductible and families ineligible for Medicare could receive up to a $5,000 tax credit for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. She also said that she would impose a $250 monthly cap on prescription drugs for patients with chronic or serious health conditions. Additionally, her plan would legalize prescription drug imports from Canada. "If the medicine you need costs less in Canada, you should be able to buy it from Canada — or any other country that meets our safety standards,” she said.^[15]^[16]

Turing Pharmaceuticals increased the price on Daraprim by 5,000 percent from $13.50 to $700 per tablet in August 2015, but due to public backlash, promised on September 22, 2015, to scale back its price increase. Clinton tweeted, “Good that Turing will lower an essential drug's price. Hillary's plan would prevent price gouging in the first place.”^[17]^[18]

The Huffington Post reported in March 2014 that Clinton "supports Obamacare, and opposes single-payer health insurance."^[19]

According to a February 2014 report titled "The Hillary Papers," Diane Blair, a political science professor and friend of Clinton's, "wrote that Hillary Clinton vouched for a single payer health-care system during a family dinner in 1993."^[20]

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Clinton introduced a healthcare plan that would mandate insurance coverage for all Americans either through a private insurance plan or employer-provided insurance. She proposed funding the program by repealing the Bush tax cuts. According to Newsweek, "It was Obama who ultimately came around to Clinton's point of view when he included the mandate in his own health care proposal."^[21]^[22]

Hillary Clinton was a chief proponent of Bill Clinton's Health Security Act, which proposed "to reform the health care system so that all Americans are guaranteed comprehensive health coverage."^[23]

Clinton was instrumental in the passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides matching funds to states to provide health insurance to children in low-income families.^[24]
Read what other presidential candidates said about healthcare.

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on healthcare

“

Ensure the Health and Safety of All Americans

Democrats have been fighting to secure universal health care for the American people for generations, and we are proud to be the party that passed Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Being stronger together means finally achieving that goal. We are going to fight to make sure every American has access to quality, affordable health care. We will tackle the problems that remain in our health care system, including cracking down on runaway prescription drug prices and addressing mental health with the same seriousness that we treat physical health. We will fight Republican efforts to roll back the clock on women’s health and reproductive rights, and stand up for Planned Parenthood. And we will tackle the epidemics of substance abuse and gun violence, which each claim tens of thousands of lives every year.

Securing Universal Health Care
Democrats believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and our health care system should put people before profits. Thanks to the hard work of President Obama and Democrats in Congress, we took a critically important step toward the goal of universal health care by passing the Affordable Care Act, which has covered 20 million more Americans and ensured millions more will never be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Democrats will never falter in our generations-long fight to guarantee health care as a fundamental right for every American. As part of that guarantee, Americans should be able to access public coverage through a public option, and those over 55 should be able to opt in to Medicare. Democrats will empower the states, which are the true laboratories of democracy, to use innovation waivers under the ACA to develop unique locally tailored approaches to health coverage. This will include removing barriers to states which seek to experiment with plans to ensure universal health care to every person in their state. By contrast, Donald Trump wants to repeal the ACA, leaving tens of millions of Americans without coverage.

For too many of us, health care costs are still too high, even for those with insurance. And medical debt is a problem for far too many working families, with one-quarter of Americans reporting that they or someone in their household had problems or an inability to pay medical bills in the past year. Democrats will also work to end surprise billing and other practices that lead to out-of-control medical debt that place an unconscionable economic strain on American households. We will repeal the excise tax on high-cost health insurance and find revenue to offset it because we need to contain the long-term growth of health care costs, but should not risk passing on too much of the burden to workers. Democrats will keep costs down by making premiums more affordable, reducing out-of-pocket expenses, and capping prescription drug costs. And we will fight against insurers trying to impose excessive premium increases. Democrats will fight any attempts by Republicans in Congress to privatize, voucherize, or “phase out” Medicare as we know it. And we will oppose Republican plans to slash funding and block grant Medicaid and SNAP, which would harm millions of Americans.

We will keep fighting until the ACA’s Medicaid expansion has been adopted in every state. Nineteen states have not yet expanded Medicaid. This means that millions of low-income Americans still lack health insurance and are not getting the care they need. Additionally, health care providers, clinics, hospitals, and taxpayers are footing a higher bill when people without insurance visit expensive emergency rooms.

Democrats believe your zip code or census tract should not be a predictor of your health, which is why we will make health equity a central part of our commitment to revitalizing communities left behind. Democrats believe that all health care services should be culturally and linguistically appropriate, and that neither fear nor immigration status should be barriers that impede health care access.

Supporting Community Health Centers
We must renew and expand our commitment to Community Health Centers, as well as community mental health centers and family planning centers. These health centers provide critically important, community-based prevention and treatment in underserved communities, prevent unnecessary and expensive trips to emergency rooms, and are essential to the successful implementation of the ACA. We will fight for a comprehensive system of primary health care, including dental, mental health care, and low-cost prescription drugs by doubling of funding for federally qualified community health centers over the next decade, which currently serve 25 million people.

Democrats also know that one of the key ingredients to the success of these health centers is a well-supported and qualified workforce in community-based settings. We will fight to train and support this workforce, encourage providers to work with underserved populations through the National Health Service Corps, and create a comprehensive strategy to increase the pool of primary health care professionals.

Reducing Prescription Drug Costs
It is unacceptable that the United States pays, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and that too many Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 cannot afford to fill their prescriptions. A lifesaving drug is no good if it is unaffordable to the very people who need it most. And many drug companies are spending more on advertising than on research. The largest pharmaceutical companies are making billions of dollars per year in profits at higher margins compared to other industries while many stash their profits in offshore tax havens.

Meanwhile, they charge Americans thousands of dollars for new drugs—often at much higher costs than in other developed nations. Democrats are committed to investing in the research, development, and innovation that creates lifesaving drugs and lowers overall health costs, but the profiteering of pharmaceutical companies is simply unacceptable.

We will crack down on price gouging by drug companies and cap the amount Americans have to pay out-of-pocket every month on prescription drugs. We will prohibit anti-competitive “pay for delay” deals that keep generic drugs off the market, and we will allow individuals, pharmacists, and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries with appropriate safety protections. Democrats will also fight to make sure that Medicare will negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers.

Enabling Cutting-Edge Medical Research
Democrats believe we must accelerate the pace of medical progress, ensuring that we invest more in our scientists and give them the resources they need to invigorate our fundamental studies in the life sciences in a growing, stable, and predictable way. We must make progress against the full range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, HIV and AIDS, cancer, and other diseases, especially chronic ones. We recognize the critical importance of a fully-funded National Institutes of Health to accelerate the pace of medical progress.

Combating Drug and Alcohol Addiction
We must confront the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction, specifically the opioid crisis and other drugs plaguing our communities, by vastly expanding access to prevention and treatment, supporting recovery, helping community organizations, and promoting better practices by prescribers. The Democratic Party is committed to assisting the estimated 20 million people struggling with addiction in this country to find and sustain healthy lives by encouraging full recovery and integration into society and working to remove common barriers to gainful employment, housing, and education. We will continue to fight to expand access to care for addiction services, and ensure that insurance coverage is equal to that for any other health conditions. We think it is time for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor, and state regulatory agencies to fully implement the protections of the Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act of 2008—which means that American medical insurers, including the federal government, will need to disclose how they make their medical management decisions.

We should also do more to educate our youth, as well as their families, teachers, coaches, mentors, and friends, to intervene early to prevent drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. We should help state and local leaders establish evidence-based, age-appropriate, and locally-tailored prevention programs. These programs include school-based drug education programs that have been shown to have meaningful effects on risky behavior; community-based peer mentorship and leadership programs; and after-school activities that deter drug use and encourage life skills.

Treating Mental Health
We must treat mental health issues with the same care and seriousness that we treat issues of physical health, support a robust mental health workforce, and promote better integration of the behavioral and general health care systems. Recognizing that maintaining good mental health is critical to all people, including young people’s health and development, we will work with health professionals to ensure that all children have access to mental health care. We must also expand community-based treatment for substance abuse disorders and mental health conditions and fully enforce our parity law. And we should create a national initiative around suicide prevention across the lifespan—to move toward the HHS-promoted Zero Suicide commitment.

Supporting Those Living with Autism and their Families
Democrats believe that our country must make supporting the millions of individuals with autism and those diagnosed in the future and their families a priority. We will conduct a nationwide early screening outreach campaign to ensure that all children, and in particular children from underserved backgrounds, can get screened for autism. We will expand services and support for adults and individuals transitioning into adulthood, including employment and housing assistance. And we will push states to require health insurance coverage for autism services in private insurance plans as well as state marketplaces so that people with autism are not denied care.^[25]

”

—2016 Democratic Party Platform^[26]

Recent news

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Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016/Healthcare - Google News

Footnotes

[1] CNN, "Hillary Clinton launches second presidential bid," April 12, 2015

[2] CNN, "Republicans go on offense over Obamacare," October 25, 2016

[3] HillaryClinton.com, "Hillary Clinton’s Comprehensive Agenda on Mental Health," accessed August 29, 2016

[4] The Hill, "Clinton calls for EpiPen maker to lower price," August 24, 2016

[5] The Atlantic, "Hillary Clinton to Congress: Come Back to D.C. and Fund Zika Research," August 9, 2016

[6] CBS News, "Hillary Clinton to back public option for health care," July 9, 2016

[7] ABC News, "Hillary Clinton Weighs in on Gun Tax, Stops Short of Endorsement," June 5, 2016

[8] AOL.com, "Hillary Clinton opens up about her greatest political regret and her first goal if elected," January 27, 2016

[9] AL.com, "Hillary Clinton to unveil autism plan Tuesday," January 5, 2016

[10] The Huffington Post, "Hillary Clinton Reveals Plan To Battle Alzheimer's Disease," December 22, 2015

[11] Reuters, "Clinton has 'serious concerns' about Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna mergers," October 21, 2015

[12] Newsweek, "Hillary Clinton Calls for Regulators to Look into Daraprim Price Increase," October 19, 2015

[13] Bloomberg Politics, "Hillary Clinton Joins Growing Chorus Against Obamacare's 'Cadillac Tax,'" September 29, 2015

[14] TIME, "6 Things We Learned From Hillary Clinton’s Facebook Q&A," September 28, 2015

[15] U.S. News & World Report, "Clinton proposes a series of steps to curb high out-of-pocket healthcare costs," September 23, 2015

[16] Huffington Post Canada, "Hillary Clinton Calls For Legalizing Prescription Pill Imports From Canada," September 26, 2015

[17] CBS News, "Hillary Clinton rolls out drug price plan as one drug cost rises 5000%," September 22, 2015

[18] Twitter, "Hillary Clinton," accessed September 22, 2015

[19] Huffington Post, "Hillary Clinton Likes Obamacare, And Opposes Single-Payer Health Insurance," accessed February 2, 2015

[20] The Washington Post, “The four most notable nuggets from ‘The Hillary Papers,’" February 10, 2014

[21] Fox News, “Sen. Hillary Clinton Unveils $110 Billion Universal Health Care Plan," September 17, 2007

[22] Newsweek, "Hillary Clinton Promises to Fix Obamacare," accessed February 2, 2015

[23] Dayton.edu, "Description of Health Security Act," accessed February 2, 2015

[24] Fact Check, “Giving Hillary Credit for SCHIP," March 18, 2008

[quotedisclaimer-25] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[26] Democratic Party, "The 2016 Democratic Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016

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Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016/Healthcare

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