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Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama both have a health plan that they say will help millions of Americans get health Insurance. If you're having trouble understanding their health proposals you're not alone. These plans are dense, complicated and pretty dull reading. But the bottom line: These candidates are offering Americans truly different choices.
Sixty-two percent of working Americans get group health insurance from their employers; however, some people are noticing a troubling trend. Pastor Charlotte Baer says, "Our premiums still went up $1,000 in the last year."
David Fassler, with High Technology Sales, said, "There's a higher co-pay for an office visit, restrictions on what doctors I see."
Soaring medical costs, uneven quality of care and the soaring ranks of the uninsured have both presidential candidates vowing change. Obama said, "We have a moral commitment as well as an economic imperative to do something."
"We should have available and affordable health care to every American citizen, McCain said.
But the two candidates remain sharply divided on how to do it. The McCain proposal will push more Americans out of group plans and into individual policies. How? Currently, health care premiums paid by workers aren't subject to taxes. That changes under McCain. The revenue raised would go to fund new tax credits Americans can use to offset that new tax or to purchase private health insurance.
The tax credit would be:
- $2,500 for individuals
- $5,000 for families
McCain then deregulates insurance so you can buy health policies in any state.
Many Americans will end up with high-deductible plans with thinner benefits. Most uninsured will remain uninsured under McCain.
As for Obama, he aims to keep Americans in group plans. Unless you're a very small business, employers have to offer workers insurance or pay a tax to help finance coverage.
For the uninsured and small businesses, the Obama proposal creates a new, national, public health plan, as well as a health insurance exchange network.
He would regulate the insurance industry. He said, "Nobody will be excluded for pre-existing conditions, which is a huge problem."
While most uninsured Americans will be insured under Obama, the plan lacks cost control.
So what are these plans going to cost the American taxpayer? The Urban/Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that over 10 years, the McCain plan will cost $1.3 trillion. The Obama plan will cost $1.6 trillion.
E-mail: drkim@ksl.com
