Obama best for Healthcare

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An analysis of the two starkly different approaches to reforming the U.S. health care system offered by John McCain and Barack Obama suggests Obama's plan has the best chance of making health care more affordable, accessible, efficient and higher in quality.


The report, released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, sized up the presidential candidates' plans for dealing with a health care system which has left nearly 46 million people uninsured and many more underinsured.

According to the report, Democrat Obama's plan would cover 34 million of the nation's projected 67 million uninsured people in 10 years, compared with just 2 million covered under Republican John McCain's plan.

"It's a plan that tries to deal in a serious way with the uninsured," Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said of Obama's plan in a telephone interview.

"That is clearly a top priority. He doesn't eliminate it, but in my view he cuts it in half over a 10-year period."

Obama's plan seeks to build on the current employer-based insurance system, which now provides coverage to 160 million people, or more than 60 percent of the population under 65.

His plan would require all employers except small businesses to either offer health insurance or contribute to the cost of coverage. It would replace the current individual insurance market with an insurance exchange in which small businesses and those without access to coverage could buy a private or public health plan with tax credits.

The plan also eases qualifications for low-income families to be covered under Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Obama's plan is most like a plan put forth earlier this year by the Commonwealth Fund, which would also build on the current employer-based health system.

MARKET SOLUTION

McCain's plan seeks to put health insurance into the hands of individuals by removing tax breaks for employer-paid health benefits and offering tax credits of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families instead.

"I think Senator McCain's plan is more concerned with health care costs and doing something about that through a market solution. It's basically saying let's have people buy their own insurance,' Davis said.

McCain would also ease state insurance restrictions and allow people to buy policies across state lines, and he would expand existing state high-risk pools for people who cannot get individual insurance because of health problems.

Researchers at the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center project McCain's plan would reduce the number of uninsured by 1.3 million in the first year at a cost $185 million. About 20 million people would lose their employer-sponsored coverage under McCain's plan, but 21 million would gain coverage on the individual market.

Obama's plan in its first year would reduce the number of uninsured by 18.4 million at a cost of $86 billion.

Over 10 years, McCain's plan would cost $1.3 trillion and Obama's would cost $1.6 trillion, according to the report.

Neither plan would offer universal health coverage, but Obama's plan would mandate health insurance coverage for children.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081002/...2XzSzM575snwcF

I love it when people who have never paid a healthcare premium, and deffinately never been around the healthcare industry start talkin and postin links about health insurance...

The only thing I know is I can't buy a plan for my family for $5,000 per year...especially if that $5,000 is just a tax credit.

Do have a clue what the average healthcare cost is in america for a family of 4?

problem aint the insurance....how many docs you know make less than 100k????

But if we are unfortunate enough to end up with B. HUSSEIN, what a thought, his plan calls for coverage on ALL pre-existing conditions. He says that will lower insurance costs but that is about as stupid as something R13 would come up with. When the existing laws were put in place, with limits on pre-existing conditions, premiums shot through the roof. That came about during the previous Dem administration and fewer people have healthcare now than then. Try and cover everybody and see what happens.

So you work in the healthcare field? And you automatically are an expert on it?

Anything but McCain's plan...I pay $4,400 per year for my part of my employers health plan...and that's not even half of the total cost. Thing is, with no more than I make I can never use it. If the kids need to go to the doctor, they go...but I haven't been to the doctor for anything besides sewing a finger back on since 1995. Used to it was because I didn't have health insurance and couldn't afford to go. Now days it's because I have health insurance and still can't afford to go.

Medicare works like this, they take everybody when they turn 65...They are so broke they are paying companies like BCBS and United Healthcare to talk people into signing off Medicare...Just sat through a BCBS class on that last week...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sup-rbeast</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have health insurance and still can't afford to go. </div></div>

http://www.getphpbb.com/phpbb/images...ghinghard1.gif

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sup-rbeast</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anything but McCain's plan...I pay $4,400 per year for my part of my employers health plan...and that's not even half of the total cost. Thing is, with no more than I make I can never use it. If the kids need to go to the doctor, they go...but I haven't been to the doctor for anything besides sewing a finger back on since 1995. Used to it was because I didn't have health insurance and couldn't afford to go. Now days it's because I have health insurance and still can't afford to go. </div></div>

Thats great, you still arent paying the average cost of medical bills per household....Even if you had to use it you wouldn't be...So wheres the money gonna come from...You just stated you cant swing your weight, neither can I, So where is the magic money gonna come from???