[Ip-health] Edwards' Prize Proposal in the NYT

[Benjamin Krohmal]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
<Mr. Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate and a former North
Carolina senator, also said he would seek to cut health care costs by
reducing the number of drug companies that hold monopolies on
breakthrough drugs through long-term patents and by better
coordinating treatment of chronic illnesses and preventative
care.Edwards to Press Insurers on Health Care Premiums.>
<Mr. Edwards said he wanted to discourage pharmaceutical companies
from obtaining long-term patents on medicines for specific ailments
like Alzheimer=92s and cancer. Instead, an upfront cash prize would be
made available to serve as an incentive for research on such drugs.>


By NICK BUNKLEY
Published: June 14, 2007


DETROIT, June 14 =97 John Edwards pressed his signature issue of
universal health care coverage today, saying that he would force
insurance companies to spend at least 85 percent of the premiums they
collect directly on patient care.

Mr. Edwards, a Democratic presidential candidate and a former North
Carolina senator, also said he would seek to cut health care costs by
reducing the number of drug companies that hold monopolies on
breakthrough drugs through long-term patents and by better
coordinating treatment of chronic illnesses and preventative care.

He said his plan would save families an average of $2,000 to $2,500
annually and eliminate at least $130 billion in =93wasteful health care
spending.=94

=93Our health care system is entirely too expensive,=94 Mr. Edwards said
during a visit to the East Riverside Health Center, a clinic on the
east side of Detroit. =93We put more money into health care than any
country in the industrialized world and we get one of the worst
products out the other end.=94

Mr. Edwards was the first of the leading Democratic candidates to
outline a specific plan for providing universal health coverage.
Since then, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois has offered his own
plan, while Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has outlined
proposals to rein in health care costs.

In discussing his latest proposal, Mr. Edwards said he would require
insurers to report how their premiums are allocated to ensure that no
more than 15 percent goes toward administrative costs and profits,
down from an average of 30 percent today. Similar regulations already
exist in New York, Minnesota, New Jersey and Florida.

He said the requirement would be enforced by the Justice Department
and denied that it would create more administrative duties for the
insurance companies.

=93What we have today is that 3 out of every 10 dollars are going to
administrative costs and to profits, and the insurance companies have
shown no capacity in the system that exists today to reduce that
amount,=94 Mr. Edwards said. =93Mandating more dollars going directly to
patient care will force insurance companies to be more efficient.=94

Mr. Edwards said he wanted to discourage pharmaceutical companies
from obtaining long-term patents on medicines for specific ailments
like Alzheimer=92s and cancer. Instead, an upfront cash prize would be
made available to serve as an incentive for research on such drugs.

Mr. Edwards is the second Democratic candidate to visit Detroit in
the past week. Mrs. Clinton spoke to unionized workers about the
government=92s need to invest in manufacturing and to help automakers
pay their workers=92 medical bills. Detroit=92s automakers spend about
$16 billion each year on health care.

Benjamin Krohmal
Coordinator - Project on Medical Innovation
Knowledge Ecology International
Tel: +1-202-332-2670 ex. 14
Fax: +1-202-332-2673
ben.krohmal@keionline.org