Whether they’re declaring “I’m with her!” or instead, prefer to “Make America Great Again!” Americans will be heading out to the polls shortly and making their opinions heard.
Still undecided, or just looking to learn a bit more before you cast your vote? Here is a general idea of where Democrats and Republicans stand on three key issues in the recent presidential debates.
The Affordable Care Act
Democrats support the Affordable Care Act, which granted healthcare coverage to nearly 20 million Americans. Forty-four percent of Democrats favor a single-payer healthcare system, claimed The New York Times.
“Hillary Clinton is committed to preserving and protecting the Affordable Care Act and the peace of mind it has brought to millions of Americans,” said the Democratic National Committee.
The DNC further added, “She will use her decades of experience with health care policy to support Americans struggling with addiction, to guarantee paid family and medical leave, and to expand opportunities for Americans with disabilities.”
Added the 2016 Democratic Party Platform, “Donald Trump wants to repeal the ACA, leaving tens of millions of Americans without coverage.”
Republicans, however, generally oppose the Affordable Care Act and tend to reject a government-run healthcare system. Sixty percent of Republicans favor abolishing the Affordable Care Act, reported The New York Times.
Republicans believe a patient-centered healthcare system, where consumers utilize Medical Savings Accounts and Flexible Savings Accounts, will slash costs.
“The Republican Party’s greatest concern with the Affordable Care Act is the exorbitant amount of money it will cost the American people to implement it, and the risk this cost creates to small businesses in particular,” stated Republican Views.
Abortion
“We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide critical health services to millions of people,” said the 2016 Democratic Party Platform last July. “We will continue to oppose and seek to overturn, federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including repealing the Hyde Amendment.”
“We will defend the ACA, which extends affordable preventive health care to women, including no-cost contraception, and prohibits discrimination in health care based on gender,” the organization added.
On the other hand, the 2016 Republican Party Platform declared, “The Democratic Party is extreme on abortion. Democrats’ almost limitless support for abortion, and their strident opposition to even the most basic restrictions on abortion, put them dramatically out of step with the American people.”
“We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare,” the organization explained. “We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage.”
Medicare and Medicaid
As per the 2016 Republican Platform, “We reject the Democrats’ approach of rationing inherent in Obamacare. We recognize the de facto rationing of healthcare caused by reduced access to doctors who increasingly opt out of participating in Medicare and Medicaid.”
“[Medicaid] is simply too big and too flawed to be administered from Washington,” the organization added. “We applaud the Republican governors and state legislators who have undertaken the hard work of modernizing Medicaid. We will give them a free hand to do so by block-granting the program without strings.”
In contrast, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform stated, “Democrats will fight any attempts by Republicans in Congress to privatize, voucherize, or ‘phase out’ Medicare as we know it. And we will oppose Republican plans to slash funding and block grant Medicaid and SNAP, which would harm millions of Americans.”
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