HEALTH POLITICS: You Too Can Question a Presidential Candidate

National security is the theme of the first presidential debate this week, but don't worry, health care will get its turn. To get citizen input, the Commission on Presidential Debates has partnered with WebMD to encourage people to submit questions for the second debate, a town hall format to be moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw.

WebMD says it gets more than 48 million visitors a month, and it has put up brief summaries of the candidates positions (so brief that voters may not understand all the implications). The web site's top topics often seem to be about sex and reproduction (although we do see that Earwax is in today's top 10), but people have taken up the chance to question the candidate... or mouth off about the candidates.

Several themes emerge.

First, it struck us how many of the questioners are disabled, struggling with both health care costs as well as with the Social Security and/or Medicaid bureaucracies.

Second, cost was the dominant theme. People wanted to know how the candidates would make health insurance and prescription medicines more affordable—and wanted specifics, particularly from Obama, on how new health reform initiatives would be financed.

Third, there were a lot of questions from people who would probably be described as lower middle class or working class, people who don't quality for insurance subsidies but can't afford to buy insurance on their own, or their share of the plan offered at work.

Here's one pretty typical post:

My family is considered low income, but we make too much to get state health insurance and too little to be able to afford to buy our own health insurance, and my job doesn't provide company insurance of any kind. What will they do to prevent this gap from happening in the future? What are they going to do to provide more affordable health care and health insurance to low income families who can't afford health insurance on their own?

Or this one:

When was the last time the candidates needed to save $800.00 for a root canal, plus $400 for a crown --- while living on $600.00 or less a month total?

Does either candidate currently have an UNaddressed medical or dental concern that they've not taken care of because they had no money to pay or could not save up the money? (Unfair question? Yes, probably it is since US Citizens know the finances of both candidates. Senator McKane, would you sell one of your houses and use the money to pay for citizens of one town to get needed medical and dental care? I know... likely, NO.)

Whoever wins the Presidency, please remember how many questions you received from the un-insured and under-insured. (Boy, I sure wish I had full coverage AND owned just one house. I'll never own a house in my lifetime. I'm not for or against either one of you at this point, but gosh-dern, owning 7 houses is rather obscene to be honest. At least it is where I come from...)

I'm sick and tired of spending my money on medicines , food and gas and nothing else. This is my daughers senior year in high school. It should be her happiest. It isn't. Why don't you think about that. You all have money. You're kids are happy and safe and have insurance and food. Mine doesn't. I hope that makes you feel crappy

Naturally, this being America, and this being the Internet, there are also questions about flag label pins, abortion, Wall Street, the Atkins diet. At least no one has (yet) asked either candidate about earwax.