Iowa Health Care Voters Confront McCain

by Andrew Mertens, Iowa for Health Care

Demonstration in Des Moines highlights inadequate health care proposed by presidential candidate

Area voters united in Iowa for Health Care raised concerns about Senator John McCain's proposed health care plan Tuesday morning at the presidential candidate's economic roundtable discussion in Des Moines. Carrying signs that read “McCain to Deregulate Health Care like Banking,” “Sen. McCain: Wrong on Health Care,” “Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege,” and “Sen. McCain, Your Health Care Plan Makes Me Sick,” the group specifically highlighted shortfalls in health care coverage for individuals with pre-existing health care conditions proposed by McCain.

McCain’s campaign forced Iowa for Health Care away from the event sight after several minutes of demonstrating. The campaign showed us that it is not interested in hearing the health care concerns of Iowans, and drove the point home by not so much as mentioning the issue during the rally. 

In a September article in Contingencies Magazine, Sen. McCain wrote that he is in favor of “Opening up the health insurance market…, as we have done over the last decade in banking.” John McCain's plan is to take our health care system down the same path as our banking system.

“Twenty million Americans who have health coverage now would lose it if McCain becomes president. That's because John McCain wants to dismantle our employer-based coverage and force us to buy expensive health care on our own. Our families can't afford to lose our health coverage. We can't afford John McCain to implement the same failed Bush-McCain policies on our health care system that they did for our economy,” says Natasha Newcomb, Des Moines organizer for Iowa for Health Care.