Obama on health care

From the Rockford Register Star:

QUESTION: Do you think it’s time for a national health care system?

OBAMA: No. I think what we need is to build on programs that are successful. Like KidCare in this state where for less than half what George Bush’s tax cuts cost for the top 1 percent, we could provide health insurance for every child. We can let 55-year-olds to 64-year-olds buy into Medicare for a relatively modest amount. We can make COBRA actually work by providing more subsidies to people when they lose their jobs so they’re not suddenly confronted with $1,000-a-month health premiums when they’re unemployed. Those are all areas we can make an impact on now, but we also have to focus on cost containment.

One of the most frustrating things that I think happened in this last legislative session was this prescription drug bill that’s going to cost $500 billion but is not providing full benefits to seniors because there wasn’t a mechanism in place to allow seniors to join the Medicare system. That hurts seniors and taxpayers. It’s the worst example of big government and George Bush pushed it.