McCain, Obama healthcare plans at a glance
John McCain would turn to the free market to improve healthcare.
He鈥檇 provide tax credits of $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per family to help them buy insurance. He鈥檇 pay for it by taxing as income the healthcare benefits that people currently receive from their employers.
He鈥檇 also spur deregulation by allowing individuals to buy healthcare insurance in different states, believing that would increase competition and lower costs. For people with preexisting health conditions who can鈥檛 get private insurance, Mr. McCain would expand the current state-run high risk pools that offer insurance as a last resort. But he sets no limits on how much insurance companies in the pool can charge.
Critics contend the proposal would undermine consumer protections, prompt thousands of businesses to stop providing coverage, and reduce the number of uninsured by only a small fraction. They also note that without mandating insurance companies to cover people with preexisting conditions, those companies will continue to cater to the young and healthy. That would leave one of the key problems in the nation鈥檚 healthcare system 鈥� the uninsured 鈥� unaddressed.
Barack Obama would take a very different approach.
He鈥檇 build on the current private/public system. He鈥檇 expand Medicaid and the State Children鈥檚 Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and set up a National Health Insurance Exchange that would include a range of approved private plans. Small businesses and individuals without coverage could buy into it, and he鈥檇 require all participating plans to offer 鈥渞easonable鈥� rates. He鈥檇 require that insurance companies cover individuals, regardless of their preexisting conditions. He鈥檇 also mandate that all children be covered, either by their parents鈥� private plans or the expanded SCHIP. For families that couldn鈥檛 afford it, he鈥檇 provide subsidies. Obama would also mandate that all large businesses provide health insurance or pay into a fund that would be used to subsidize individuals who have to buy insurance on their own.
Some critics contend that the Obama plan calls for too much government regulation of the health insurance industry. Others argue that it still doesn鈥檛 do enough: It should mandate coverage for all Americans and not just children, they say. One analysis found that it would end up covering only half of the uninsured. Another criticism is that the Obama campaign has not yet defined how big a 鈥渂ig business鈥� must be before it is required to cover its employees.
