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Where they stand
Presidential candidates answer AAFP's questions on health issues

What do some contenders for the U.S. presidency think about issues important to family physicians and their patients?

Since August 2003, the AAFP has been contacting presidential candidates to obtain their views on key health policy questions. Thus far, the respondents are: Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.; Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo.; Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; and Sen Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. Others from whom the Academy continues to seek answers are: President Bush and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York City.

Simply click on each question below for a summary of all the available responses to the question. You also can click on each candidate's name, below, to go to a page reserved for the candidate's answers. As more candidates reply, the site will be updated, so check back often.

In the meantime, you can go to http://www.aafp.org/x22202.xml to read the candidates' general views on health-related topics and to link to their Web sites.

Presidential contenders

Bush	Edwards	Gephardt	Kerry
Kucinich	Lieberman	Sharpton

AAFP questions

Access to health care

How do you propose to provide health care for the uninsured?

Health care costs are rising steadily. What specific measures do you propose to address this?

Medicare

How do you propose to correct the Medicare physician reimbursement rate formula?

How would your proposal address disparities in payments to providers in rural areas?

Medical liability

What is your position on a cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability lawsuits?

What plan would you propose to reduce medical errors?

Electronic medical records

What is your position on the development and use of an electronic medical records system?

How would you help physicians get the technology they need to implement an effective EMR system?

Training primary care physicians

America faces a shortage of primary care physicians. What would you do to address this?

What role do you see community health centers playing in addressing this shortage? How would you fund them? How would you staff them?

NIH/AHRQ

What is the appropriate funding level for basic medical research at the NIH?

What is the appropriate funding level for AHRQ and other agencies that sponsor applied medical research?

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FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2004 by American Academy of Family Physicians.

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