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Kerry Is Next Up With Health Plan

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From Associated Press

Jumping into the Democratic fray over health care, presidential hopeful John F. Kerry will propose an $80-billion plan that would expand existing programs to insure children and low-income adults and would repeal some of President Bush’s tax cuts to cover the cost.

Among the Massachusetts senator’s rivals for the party’s presidential nomination, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt started the debate last month by offering a broad plan, and recently Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean have detailed their solutions to the problem of an estimated 41 million uninsured.

Democrats see health care not only as a defining issue of the 2004 campaign but a means to score political points against a popular Republican president and his economic policies.

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Central to Kerry’s proposal of near-universal coverage -- 95% of Americans would be insured -- is an effort to rein in soaring health-care costs and cutting into the estimated $350 billion spent each year on the nation’s health system. He argues that administrative waste can be cut in half through “new quality and technology measures.”

Among Kerry’s proposals is an end to legal provisions that allow drug manufacturers to block generic drugs from entering the market and a requirement that those who manage pharmacy programs disclose any financial incentives they receive from drug manufacturers.

Kerry had hoped to announce his proposal at a Des Moines hospital today, but he returned to Washington for votes on the president’s proposed tax cut plan. Campaign aides hoped to hold the event Friday.

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