Reason #3 - Fair, Cost-Effective Health Care Insurance
Americans were finally fed-up enough with the unfairness of health care delivery in this country, to be ready to make the issue a priority in selecting a president.
The U.S. is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not have a universal health care system. As a result, in 2008, more than 48 million U.S. men, women and children have no health care insurance.
Despite being ranked #1 in health care spending by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. was ranked 72nd among 191 nations in 2000 in overall level of health of its citizens. And the state of U.S. health care has deteriorated further under the Bush administration.
Barack Obama's health care plan and policies will fairly ensure that every American will have access to good quality medical care services.
John McCain's health care plan was a stunningly radical scheme that will:
- still exclude millions of the uninsured,
- raise income taxes for most American families and,
- in the opinion of most experts, causes millions of employers to drop health care policies for their employees.
Obama's Health Care Plan
Briefly, Obama will make available a new plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The new plan will include:
- Guaranteed eligibility
- No one will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions
- Comprehensive benefits
- Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles
- Easy enrollment
- Portability and choice
Employers that do not offer or make a significant contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of this plan. Most small businesses will be exempt from this mandate.
The Obama plan requires only that all children have health care coverage.
McCain's Health Care Plan
John McCain's health care plan was designed to control health care costs and to deregulate, and thus enrich, the health care industry, and is not necessarily designed to offer health care coverage to the uninsured.
For consumers, the McCain plan:
- required that insurance policies from employers be included in employees' taxable income, along with salary and bonuses, thereby causing employees' income taxes to increase;
- then provided a $5,000 tax credit to partially offset increased income taxes;
- deleted the employee health care insurance income tax deduction for all employers.
- cause the taxable income of the average family of four to rise by about $7,000;
- cause employers to drop health care insurance for employees;
- would cause an increase, not decrease, in Americans without health care coverage.
Newsweek reported, "The Tax Policy Center estimates that 20 million workers will leave the employer-based system, not always voluntarily . Midsize and smaller companies are likely to drop their plans... "
CNN/Money added, "McCain sorely lacks a plan for people in their 50s without corporate benefits, and Americans with pre-existing conditions, who would be brutally stripped of coverage if insurance crosses state lines."
Observed blogger Jim MacDonald, "The result... won’t be healthy competition that will lower costs for everyone. It’ll be higher costs and fewer options for the poor, the old, and the sick. That is, the people who need health care. Young, healthy, rich people won’t be affected... "
Obama's Plan: The Only Viable Choice
In summary, Obama's plan, in which long-time health care advocate Hillary Clinton will be deeply involved, will fairly and inexpensively ensure that all Americans have access to quality health care services, but without the government providing those services.
McCain's so-called health care plan was intended to free the business community from providing for its employees, to enrich the health care insurance industry, and increase income taxes for all Americans. But not to provide health care services for the uninsured.
For anyone who valued their health care insurance, Barack Obama was the only viable choice for president.
