Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says only 37 percent of Iowa’s small businesses provide health care coverage to their workers. The health care plan she unveiled Monday seeks to provide a tax break to small companies so more small businesses in Iowa and elsewhere will start offering a health care benefit to workers.
"They will have new incentives to provide you with coverage that makes it affordable for you and the small business, but they will not be required to do so," Clinton says. If you can’t get insurance through your employer, Clinton’s plan allows you to buy into the government-run health care system. Republican critics say Clinton hopes to get more citizens used to a government-run system so she can eventually shift all Americans away from private insurance.
"I anticipate that those who do not want to solve the problems we face and who do not understand the human and economic costs that our current health care system is imposing on our people and businesses will come up with all kinds of criticism," Clinton says. Some of Clinton’s Democratic critics say she’s too willing to work with the insurance and pharmaceutical industries on this issue. Clinton says she’s not only willing to work with insurance and drug company representatives, she will work with any willing Republicans.
"The bottom line is we cannot have health care reform unless we have a bipartisan majority to do it," she says. Clinton made her comments during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa. Clinton and four other Democratic presidential candidates will be in Davenport tonight to talk about health care reform and retirement security issues at a forum sponsored by the "Divided We Fail" coalition which includes the A-A-R-P and other health care-oriented organizations.