Health Care is An Important Election Issue -- Compare the Proposals

Before Voting Understand the Vastly Different Proposals for Reforming Health Care

The Presidential election has provided a great opportunity to discuss the need for health care reform. Polls consistently list health care as one of the top issues amoung voters. And this makes sense because everybody is struggling with the high cost of health care. Health care premiums and deductibles have increased by an astonishing 170% since 2000, while at the same time employees are making less in real wages (once you factor in inflation) in 2007 than in 2000. So while people are making less money, the cost of health care keeps going up. The business community is struggling as well. It's difficult for business to provide health care when so many of their global competitors do not because their home country provides it.

With both Barack Obama and John McCain talking about health care, it provides a unique opportunity to learn about the candidate's proposals and compare them. You can then make up your own mind as to which proposal makes sense and therefore which candidate deserves your support.

 The differences between the two candiates positions could not be more striking.

John McCain wants to radically change the employer based health care system, which is how most of us receive health care. Right now if you receive health care from the company you work for, it's viewed as a "benefit". McCain wants to change the law so the health care the company pays for is now viewed as "income" to employees and employees will have to start paying taxes on. Besides forcing workers to pay taxes on health care benfits from their employer, the company might stop offering health care, which then would force employees to buy health care as individuals in the private sector. This insurance market is the most expensive and insurance companies wouldn't offer insurance to people with a pre-existing condition. Peoeple would pay more and have less benefits than they have now under the employer based system.

McCain does want to provide a $5,000 tax credit for families and $2,500 for individuals to help pay for health insurance. But with the typical cost of an employer based plan for a family of four of $12,106, the $5,000 tax credit won't cover much. Workers will pay more for health insurance and many more will go without, which will make the health care crisis worse.

Barack Obama wants to build upon the strengths of the current system and fix what isn't working. If a person or business likes their current provate insurance plan, then they could keep it under Obama's proposal. Nothing would change. But if you don't like your current plan or you can't afford insurance in the private insurance market, you would then have the option of joining a "public health insurance" plan that Obama would enact, that would offer health insurance, similar to Medicare. 

The advantage of public insurance is that premiums will be significantly lower because administrative costs are much less and there isn't a profit component tacked on. Medicare is public insurance for seniors that is very popular and very cost effective. Studies have shown that administrative costs for Medicare is 3% - 4% as compared to private sector insurance where administrative costs run from 25% - 40% on every health care dollar spent. 

By creating a public insurance option and giving people and business a choice on where to purchase insurance, will create real competition in the market place which should drive down the cost of health insurance even more.

So as you focus in on the election these last few weeks consider the candidates positions on reforming health care. I have only touched on some of the main points of Obama's and McCain's proposals. One interesting note is that the business community in a New York Times October 7 article, was not supportive of McCain's plan and said that it would erode further the employer sponsored health insurance and would do nothing to reduce the number of uninsured.

We need to reform the health care system so everybody can obtain quality affordable health care. Please get involved in our campaign to win health care reform in 2009! And go vote on November 4th.