CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – About 250 people came out to hear what former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Kerry had to say about health care disparities in America.

“The costs are too high, and the system is inefficient,” Kerry said Saturday at a town hall meeting at the International Longshoreman’s Association Local 1422. “It’s effective health care, but it’s not effective for everybody.”

Kerry said he introduced a “Kids First” bill in the Senate last year to require the federal government to pay all Medicaid costs for children younger than 21 who live at or below the poverty level.

In return, state governments would expand coverage for children typically considered middle-class. States could save $10 billion each year if the federal government picked up health care for the poorest children, according to the proposal.

To pay for the increased coverage, the bill would repeal a portion of tax breaks enacted in 2001 for people earning more than $300,000 a year.

“I certainly think he is a candidate that realizes how serious this is,” said Mary Sculley, a 73-year-old retired schoolteacher who drove from Mount Pleasant.

Kerry, who hasn’t announced his plans for the 2008 presidential election, planned to attend a fundraiser for Democrats running in statewide elections, The (Charleston) Post and Courier reported.

Kerry’s running mate in the 2004 presidential election, John Edwards, who was born in South Carolina, beat Kerry in the state’s Democratic primary. South Carolina voted for President Bush in the general election.

AP-ES-07-22-06 1815EDT