Election 2004
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《新英格兰医药杂志》
No event provides stronger evidence of democracy at work than a national election campaign in which the incumbent must defend his or her past record and future plans. The open debate between incumbent and challenger allows voters to identify and evaluate the major national issues. Health care services now account for more than one seventh of our economy and are critical to the day-to-day well-being of our nation's populace. Health care policy is clearly an important domestic campaign issue.
This issue of the Journal contains the first article of a new series, "Election 2004," which will include weekly articles about vital health policy controversies. Robert Blendon, Drew Altman, and colleagues lead the series with a Special Article reporting national survey data on citizens' views about how important health care issues are in their choice of president and about which health care issues are most important. Voters' priorities will influence the health care debate during the election campaign and are likely to dictate much of the health policy agenda for our next president.
Upcoming articles in the series will address four major health policy controversies: the Medicare drug benefit and drug reimportation, expansion of coverage for the uninsured, control of the cost of private insurance and the affordability of care, and the financing and long-term viability of Medicare. Each article will provide the pertinent background information, explain the policy options, and describe the candidates' positions. To conclude the series, the candidates themselves have been invited to offer their own position statements on the expansion of insurance coverage and the Medicare program.
The Election 2004 series is designed to illuminate the context of the health care debate and provide a primer on the most pressing issues. Our goal is to inform the choices of our readers, many of whom, as direct providers of health care, are especially interested in the debate about health care policy during the election campaign.(Arnold M. Epstein, M.D., )
This issue of the Journal contains the first article of a new series, "Election 2004," which will include weekly articles about vital health policy controversies. Robert Blendon, Drew Altman, and colleagues lead the series with a Special Article reporting national survey data on citizens' views about how important health care issues are in their choice of president and about which health care issues are most important. Voters' priorities will influence the health care debate during the election campaign and are likely to dictate much of the health policy agenda for our next president.
Upcoming articles in the series will address four major health policy controversies: the Medicare drug benefit and drug reimportation, expansion of coverage for the uninsured, control of the cost of private insurance and the affordability of care, and the financing and long-term viability of Medicare. Each article will provide the pertinent background information, explain the policy options, and describe the candidates' positions. To conclude the series, the candidates themselves have been invited to offer their own position statements on the expansion of insurance coverage and the Medicare program.
The Election 2004 series is designed to illuminate the context of the health care debate and provide a primer on the most pressing issues. Our goal is to inform the choices of our readers, many of whom, as direct providers of health care, are especially interested in the debate about health care policy during the election campaign.(Arnold M. Epstein, M.D., )