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The two main presidential candidates in 2004, Sen. John Kerry (left) and President George Bush, have some overlapping ideas — both advocate advancing medical records technology, for example — but they offer different solutions to most health care issues.

In an election year darkened by war and terrorism, health care ranks high among voter concerns. Dawn Morrell, RN, BSN, CCRN, spends three hours a day ringing doorbells and listening to constituents in her bid for a second term as a Democratic legislator in Washington state.

“This year, no matter who you’re at the door with, they’re worried about health care,” Morrell says.

The importance of a topic that has long concerned nurses has not gone unnoticed, says Marla Weston, RN, MS, executive director of the Arizona Nurses Association.

“Nurses recognize health care is a big issue in this election year, and there is some excitement about that,” Weston says.

Nurses want to know how candidates propose to address the nursing shortage, be it funds for nursing education or changes in workplace conditions like overtime restrictions and staffing ratios.

Yet, like the general population, they are also concerned about access to adequate, affordable health care — particularly for their patients, family, and friends.

As patient advocates, nurses see how the lack of a coherent system affects their clients every day, says Erin Murphy, BSN, chair of American Nurses Association Political Action Committee Presidential Task Force and the executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

“Nurses are hungry to solve this problem,” Murphy says. “We’re privileged with that knowledge and obligated as advocates to talk about it.”

Pundits and politicians characterize this year’s election as polarized.

The two main candidates for president in 2004 have some overlapping ideas — both advocate advancing medical records technology, for example — but they offer different solutions to most health care issues.

Health coverage

Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts proposes expanding federal aid to cover health insurance and expanding government regulation of the workplace.

President George W. Bush offers tax credits to expand health insurance and has shied away from government workplace regulation.

The Republican Party’s approach has attracted followers like Mary Griffith, RN, MN, chair of the legislative committee for the Arizona Nurses Association.

“The more government there is, the less empowerment and accountability there is,” she says.

The first step in Bush’s approach was found in the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003, which created health care savings accounts.

The two-part approach is meant to stimulate market competition to control prices. Subscribers buy a catastrophic health insurance plan with low monthly premiums, but for routine medical expenses, they have no insurance. Instead, they pay for doctor’s visits and medication with their own money invested in a tax-free health care savings account.

“When it’s your money you’re spending, you have the tendency to demand better service,” Bush said, explaining the rationale behind the program in a Jan. 28 speech on health care.

Critics say the health care savings accounts are of little value to Americans who, as a whole, have become notoriously bad at saving money.