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Published: Apr 20, 2008 12:30 AM
Modified: Apr 20, 2008 01:43 AM

President: Democratic primary

Q: How do you propose to fix the nation's health-care system?

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

NEW YORK

What she says:

* Provide coverage to all Americans, giving people a choice between their existing insurance, a federal plan on a par with what Congress gets, or coverage like Medicare.

* Reduce costs by stressing prevention, capping premiums based on family income, giving working families a tax credit. Offer a tax incentive to small businesses to provide coverage.

* Create databases consumers can use. Raise funding for nurse training and retention and raise reimbursements for doctors who provide a high quality of care.

What she's done:

* Worked to improve rural health care in Arkansas, when her husband was governor, by helping to set up the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

* In the 1990s, as first lady, headed an initiative that sought to overhaul U.S. health care.

BARACK OBAMA

ILLINOIS

What he says:

* Provide coverage to all Americans through public or private sources. Public coverage would be like the Congress members' coverage.

* Encourage use of electronic health records, which would reduce errors and coordinate care. Create a watchdog agency to keep tabs on costs and premiums.

* Support programs that help people maintain healthy lifestyles.

What he's done:

* Sponsored and passed legislation in 2003 that expanded health-care coverage to 70,000 children and 84,000 adults.

* Co-sponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the SCHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure more children have affordable health-care coverage.

* Worked to pass laws for Illinois and the U.S. to improve the health of women, including creating a task force on cervical cancer.

JOHN McCAIN (ARIZONA): McCain is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

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