Health care is a hot issue in this election cycle. Here's a summary look at how each candidate would address the health care crisis.
McCain
Obama
sources: health08.org, Obama-McCain comparisons
McCain
- McCain opposes universal health care.
- He supports importing prescription drugs to lower costs.
- He would offer a refundable $2,500 tax credit and $5,000 for families.
- He would open health care markets by allowing providers to practice nationwide, rather than restricting them regionally, allowing the purchase of health care insurance across state lines.
- Give veterans ability to use their VA benefits to pay for timely high quality care from providers in the best locations.
- Work with states to create a federally-supported Guaranteed Access Plan for people who are denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Premiums in the plan would be limited and financial assistance given to those below a certain income level.
Obama
- He would mandate all children have health care coverage.
- He would create a national public insurance program that would allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees.
- He supports universal health care and believes government should buy prescription drugs in bulk to lower costs.
- His plan would require all employers to contribute toward health coverage for their employees or toward the cost of the public plan.
- He wants hospitals to be graded on performance and switch to more cost-effective, computerized record keeping systems.
- Obama would create a national health insurance exchange to reform the private insurance market.
sources: health08.org, Obama-McCain comparisons
3 comments:
The universal health care plan is a big concern for me. My husband works for a health insurance company and many do not realize how much the federal government has their hands in this mess already. Much is blamed on the insurance companies but the government has a large say in their business. If it is not working now with the governments help I don't see how a universal plan run by government would work at all.
I also don't agree with making it mandatory that all employees have to provide health insurance. Small businesses across the country might fold under that kind of financial burden.
Can you clarify something? Does Obama's plan really require all employers to provide or contribute, or only those whose businesses make over a certain amount of money? I thought that it was the latter, based upon one of the debates.
Hands-Free Heart,
Obama’s plan includes an exemption for small businesses that meet unspecified "revenue thresholds."
Businesses with low revenues would contribute to the cost of their workers' health care on a "sliding scale" with some fully exempt.
Something like 30 states have already passed some form of "Pay or Play" bills. They range from taxing businesses that have a minimum of 100 employees all the way up to businesses that have a minimum of 10,000 employees.
So many of those details will probably be set by congress and/or your state.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/payorplay2006.htm
Post a Comment