The Candidates on Healthcare

46 million Americans are uninsured. 8.7 million are children. The national healthcare system is failing Americans, many who find themselves unable to get adequate treatment or pay for their treatments.

The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care. As a matter of fact, universal health care is provided in most developed countries, in many developing countries, and is the trend worldwide.

Both Obama and McCain plan on addressing the healthcare crisis and the insane reality that chronic conditions account for three-quarters of the nation’s healthcare bill. They both focus on preventive care and chronic disease management, but their approaches are vastly different.

Candidates Sound Off on Health Insurance

Senator Barack Obama –

“The reason people don’t have health care is because no one’s made it affordable”

Senator John McCain –

“The wrong way to go is to turn over your lives to the government.”

On Expanding Coverage

Sen. Barack Obama

• Plans to institute Universal Healthcare that would provide health care coverage to all eligible residents, including mandatory coverage for children.
• Would allow families the option of purchasing different insurance through the proposed National Health Exchange which would offer a range of private insurance options and a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress.
• Plans to focus on preventive care and chronic disease management to reduce premiums by about $2,500.

Sen. John McCain

• Plans to use competition between health insurance companies to improve the quality of health insurance.
• Believes families should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide and across state lines.
• Believes insurance should be more portable – so it follows citizens from job to job.
• The plan: Every family will have the option of using employer-based insurance coverage, but will also receive a tax credit of $2,500 for individuals or $5,000 for families to help with the cost of insurance.
• Families will then be able to choose the insurance provider that suits them best and the tax credit money is sent directly to the provider they choose.
• Work with states to establish a Guaranteed Access Plan (GAP) to develop a model to follow to ensure health coverage.
• An approach McCain has suggested would be to establish a nonprofit corporation that would contract with insurers to cover patients who have been denied insurance. These people would then be permitted to join state plans and, as a result, assistance would be available for Americans below a certain income level.

General Healthcare Reform

Sen. Barack Obama –

• Plans to lower drug costs by importing safe medicines from other countries and increasing the use of generic (no brand name) drugs in public programs.
• Intends on requiring hospitals to collect and report health care cost and quality data.
• His strategy includes a reform of the insurance market to promote competition, thereby improving quality. He specifically intends on going after those companies that don’t foster the same competitiveness and don’t offer quality care.

Sen. John McCain

• Will lower drug costs by increasing drug market competition through importing drugs and the faster introduction of generic drugs.
• Plans to emphasize prevention, early intervention and a new public health infrastructure to reduce chronic disease and health care costs.
• His cost reduction plan also includes increasing the use of information technology to allow doctors to practice across state lines.
• Plans to work with business and insurance companies to promote availability of programs to help people quit smoking.
• Hopes to promote access to healthcare by creating walk-in clinics in malls and other retail outlets

Healthcare for Children

Sen. Barack Obama

• Plans to implement mandatory coverage for children

Sen. John McCain

• His plan does not include mandatory coverage for children
• For families with children, the amount of money they get (in form of a tax credit) towards insurance, is greater

Sources: BarackObama.com, JohnMcCain.com, The Wall Street Journal, abcnews.com, U.S. Census Bureau, American Medical Association, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences