CEDAR FALLS - Presidential candidates were not the only ones talking about universal health care in Iowa on Tuesday.

The American Medical Association's (AMA) plan for health care reform was at the forefront of AMA president Dr. Ronald Davis' speech to local members of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) at the Voodoo Lounge Tuesday afternoon.

Davis was promoting the AMA's Voice for the Uninsured campaign, which is intended to raise awareness about the 45 million Americans who do not have health insurance.

A system of tax credits was the solution offered by Davis for helping to provide insurance to the approximately one in seven Americans who are without it. The credits could only be used to purchase health insurance and would vary in amount inversely to income. The credits would be funded by way of taxing the currently-exempt health benefits provided through employer health care plans.

Davis said that by offering credits instead forcing individuals into plans, everyone would still be able to upgrade to better insurance programs if they desired.

"Nine out of ten employers offer just a single plan," said Davis.

The recently-vetoed bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program was another subject Davis broached. He voiced his displeasure over President George Bush's vetoing of the bill and vowed to get it passed under a new administration in 2009.

Medicare physician payments were another subject Davis addressed. He chided the current system which has made five percent cuts in payments each year to physicians, and said the topic should be at the forefront of voters' minds in the upcoming elections. He added that Iowa ranked 49th out of the 50 states in Medicare payments.

While he did not have any long term solutions in mind for fixing the financially-plagued federal program, Davis said it was in "need of a short-term Band-Aid."

Finally, Davis spoke briefly about the need to establish association health care programs for small business owners. This idea was greeted warmly by the crowd of small business owners in attendance. It is also among the top of the NFIB issue list for the upcoming legislative session.

Davis is a preventive medicine physician from East Lansing, Mich., and became president of the AMA in June of 2007. He pointed out that the AMA was celebrating its 160th birthday this year. He said the association had not changed its primary goals since 1920.

"How many organizations do you know of that have had the same business plan for 87 years?" laughed Davis.

The AMA has a Web site at www.ama-assn.org and the NFIB's Web site is located at www.nfib.com.

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.