Obama vs. McCain on Health Care
Presidential Candidates Weigh in on America's Insurance Crisis
Sep 15, 2008 Stephen Allen Christensen
The United States spends more per capita for health care than any other nation, yet it is the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal coverage for its citizens. 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance, and another 25 million have insurance but cannot pay their medical bills.
50% of all bankruptcies are partly due to medical expenses, yet 68% of those filing for bankruptcy have health insurance. 42% of the workforce in the US is either uninsured or underinsured and is at significant risk of financial ruin in the event of a major medical problem.
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have each proposed strategies to change a health care system that is, in some experts’ estimation, on the verge of collapse. Neither candidate is currently advocating universal health care, but there are some major differences in their philosophies.
The Basics
Senator Obama’s plan calls for coverage for every American. Citizens who are already insured will see a decrease in premiums; for the uninsured, a new low-cost national insurance would be created that would allow people to acquire coverage. All children would have health care coverage.
Senator McCain calls on individual citizens to buy their own insurance after making well-informed decisions regarding their health. He believes that we can build a more responsive system that can deliver more services to more people at a lower cost. He would offer tax credits to make health insurance more affordable.
Getting Specific
- The insurance industry: Obama would further regulate the insurance industry, making it mandatory that they cover mental health issues and prohibiting them from denying coverage for preexisting conditions. McCain would deregulate the industry to encourage competition and bring costs down.
- Employer-based insurance: McCain’s plan would de-emphasize employer-based insurance—although it would remain an option—and would offer individuals incentives to purchase their own insurance. He would propose tax credits of $2,500 per year for individuals and $5,000 for families (the annual premium paid by employers for an employee’s family of four averaged $12,100 in 2007; individual coverage averaged $4,400). Obama would offer tax credits to employers who offered insurance to employees; those who didn’t would be expected to pay into the national plan.
- Cost control: McCain proposes reducing drug costs by allowing the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada and granting generic status to drugs earlier than is now possible. He would reform medical liability laws to reduce the costs of medical lawsuits. Further, he would advocate changes in Medicare and Medicaid that would stress the importance of preventive health and limit or deny payment when medical errors or mismanagement occur. Obama would rescind regulations that prohibit price negotiations between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies. He is also behind a plan to convert and update medical records to an electronic format, thus reducing paperwork costs.
- Stem cell research: Obama actively supports spending federal dollars on stem cell research. McCain would continue funding for research on existing stem cell lines only.
Of course, both McCain and Obama have been criticized for what some feel are significant weaknesses in their health care plans. For example, many of Obama’s fellow democrats feel he erred when he didn’t call for universal health care; anything less, they believe, is a concession to the industries that now control health care in America and keep driving costs upward. McCain has been taken to task for not requiring insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing illnesses.
No matter who gets elected in November, reform of America’s troubled health care system will prove a daunting challenge.
Resources
InHealthNW Magazine, September-October, 2008 pp 10-11
What do you think about this article?
More in Politics & Society
Latest Articles