McCain U: Don't Get Sick

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/analyzing_mccain.html

"Overall, the goal is not universal coverage, it's cost containment," Peter Harbage said while introducing McCain's health care plan. Harbage, Health Care Policy Advisor at CAPAF, described how McCain's plan would allow a $5,000 tax credit for families and $2,500 for individuals with which they could purchase private health insurance and establish health savings accounts.

Harbage noted, however, that the tax credit would grow at the rate of inflation, rather than at the higher rate of health care cost increases. He also said that McCain would allow the sale of health insurance across state lines. Currently, states regulate insurance within their borders.

Jeanne Lambrew, Senior Fellow at CAPAF, moderated the discussion on health care. Panelists included Karen Davenport, Director of Health Policy for CAPAF; Karen Pollitz, Director of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University; and Harbage, filling in for Elizabeth Edwards, also a Senior Fellow at CAPAF.

Pollitz set the framework for the discussion by arguing that a successful policy must make health care available, bring down costs, and provide adequate coverage, all the time. She noted that health care costs are unevenly distributed, and "the sickest 5 percent account for half of all spending." Pollitz said that a competitive insurance industry will always try to limit insurance for people when they are sick, so "the only way to make a competitive insurance market cover people when they are sick is to regulate it."

She criticized McCain's health care plan for deregulating health care and removing tax credits for job-based coverage, although such coverage currently provides health insurance to many Americans. Pollitz further faulted McCain's plan for allowing insurance companies to choose the state in which they are regulated, and therefore choose which set of regulations apply to them.

Panelists agreed with Davenport when she commented, ...

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[pluto4847]

@funkyflights

Agreed! I couldn't have said it better myself.

[funkyflights]

Health care is a joke in the USA ... only good thing is and emergency room has to help you whether you have insurance or not ... BUT our next step is to regulate these BIG insurance companies and lower the cost these hospitals are charging .... seriously... there is profit and then there is just RIDICULOUS profit and that's what's killing health care...