Slugging it out over health care, stem cells, and abortion

“We are delighted we have good health insurance. That makes a big difference. And I hope some day everybody will be able to say the same thing,” said Democrat senator Hillary Rodham Clinton when her husband, former president Bill Clinton, entered New York's Presbyterian Hospital for bypass surgery last week.

Senator Clinton pointed to a major issue in the 2004 American elections: 45 million people lack health insurance and many others fear losing insurance in an uncertain economy.

“The Republican and Democratic party platforms [on health insurance] are very different,” Dr Karen Davis told the BMJ. Dr Davis, who is an economist and health policy analyst and heads the non-profit Commonwealth Foundation in New York, said that Democrat candidate Senator John Kerry's programme “is more comprehensive and more expensive. It would cover about 27 million of the uninsured. [Republican] President George W Bush's plan would cover two to six million.” …