Reply #13: Democrats unveil ideas for health coverage [View All]

'Kerry's plan puts greater emphasis on cost controls than Dean's does. Kerry would have the federal government cover patients whose annual medical bills are very high so insurance companies don't have to spread the cost of paying for their care among everyone else. The Massachusetts senator says new technology could cut overhead by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Kerry estimates his plan would cost $72 billion a year, but critics say it would take years to get everyone covered.

Dean's plan is based on what he did as governor of Vermont and would cost an estimated $88 billion a year. He said it is intended to give everyone coverage as soon as possible, not to fix everything at once.

"Once everybody's in the system, then we can have a big fight about how to change it," he said. '

http://www.detnews.com/2003/politics/0306/09/a05-186480.htm