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Giuliani Breezes Through State

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By WILLIAM MARCH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2007

TAMPA - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani devoted a quick, one-day tour of Florida on Monday mainly to bash the health care reform plan released the same day by potential Democratic foe Hillary Clinton, calling it "socialized medicine."

With his schedule altered by transportation problems, Giuliani breezed quickly through a planned appearance at a cafe frequented by Tampa Bay Young Republicans in Tampa's South Howard Avenue district. After just five minutes of meeting and greeting, he headed downtown for a $2,300-a-person fundraiser organized by his prominent Tampa supporter, Al Austin.

He did a public appearance and a fundraiser in Fort Lauderdale, and stopped in Miami, before coming to Tampa.

Clinton proposed a health care plan that would require individuals to buy health insurance, and require businesses to offer it to employees or contribute to a fund to offer it.

The plan is similar in some ways to one instituted by one of Giuliani's Republican opponents, Mitt Romney, while he was Massachusetts' governor.

Giuliani told reporters in Tampa that Clinton's plan is "government-mandated medicine, government-regulated medicine. Mandated health care ends up being socialized medicine, deteriorated medicine."

Giuliani, who has had prostate cancer, contended that the chances of survival for a patient with his illness in the United States were twice those of a similar patient in Britain, which has a national health care program.

Giuliani has proposed a plan including tax deductions to help people buy insurance. Under his plan, people wouldn't have to pay taxes on up to $15,000 of income that they spend for health insurance and health care costs.

"My approach is to encourage people to buy their own health insurance ... give people incentives to buy health insurance, not demand that they do it," he told reporters in Fort Lauderdale.

Asked in Tampa whether he considers the Massachusetts plan "socialized medicine," Giuliani, who was being hustled into his car by aides, didn't answer.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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