Md. Senatorial Candidate Mfume touts single-payer health care system

Former Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), a candidate for Maryland's Democratic Senate nomination, on Wednesday touted universal health insurance during an event at the University of Maryland Medical Center, at which he gained endorsements from Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.), the Baltimore Sun reports.

Mfume has promoted a single-payer system in which the government pays for care delivered by private providers. He hopes such changes would increase access to health care and diminish health disparities.

"Forty-six million people got up this morning with absolutely no health insurance at all. ... We can do better than that," he said. Mfume's primary opponent, Rep. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), "has made universal health insurance a centerpiece of his campaign," the Sun reports.

Cardin, who cites his work in promoting Medicare coverage of preventive care measures such as cancer screenings, diabetes self-management and osteoporosis screenings, said, "I'm responsible for the preventive health care package in the Medicare system."

Cardin also said he is open to a variety of approaches in ensuring universal health care. "There's three ways you can get to universal coverage.

Increasing employer responsibility, increasing government responsibility and increasing individual responsibility," Cardin said (Hay Brown, Baltimore Sun, 8/31).