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Sep
17
Because I prefer Obama’s health care plan, by a long shot.
As I wrote yesterday, I tend to go for those politicians whose proposals are going to benefit the many, even if it’s at my expense, and especially if the alternative is that those people otherwise would be unable to get anything. And the differences between John McCain and Barack Obama‘s health care reform proposals epitomizes how that type of preference (as opposed to letting capitalism run free, with the hope that business will do the right thing to please the consumer) plays out in planning.
The Wall Street Journal actually published this article yesterday, stating a strong preference for Obama’s plan.
About Obama’s plan:
Rising health costs push total employment costs up and wages and benefits down. The result is lost profits and lost wages, in addition to pointless risk, insecurity and a flood of personal bankruptcies.
Sustained growth thus requires successful health-care reform. Barack Obama and John McCain propose to lead us in opposite directions — and the Obama direction is far superior.
Sen. Obama’s proposal will modernize our current system of employer- and government-provided health care, keeping what works well, and making the investments now that will lead to a more efficient medical system. He does this in five ways: [read article for full description of each way]
- Learning.
- Rewarding.
- Pooling.
- Preventing.
- Covering.In addition, tax credits for those still unable to afford private coverage, and the option to buy in to the federal government’s benefits system, will ensure that all individuals have access to an affordable, portable alternative at a price they can afford.
Given the current inefficiencies in our system, the impact of the Obama plan will be profound. Besides the $2,500 savings in medical costs for the typical family, according to our research annual business-sector costs will fall by about $140 billion. Our figures suggest that decreasing employer costs by this amount will result in the expansion of employer-provided health insurance to 10 million previously uninsured people.
We know these savings are attainable: other countries have them today. We spend 40% more than other countries such as Canada and Switzeraland on health care — nearly $1 trillion — but our health outcomes are no better.
About McCain’s plan:
In contrast, Sen. McCain, who constantly repeats his no-new-taxes promise on the campaign trail, proposes a big tax hike as the solution to our health-care crisis. His plan would raise taxes on workers who receive health benefits, with the idea of encouraging their employers to drop coverage. A study conducted by University of Michigan economist Tom Buchmueller and colleagues published in the journal Health Affairs suggests that the McCain tax hike will lead employers to drop coverage for over 20 million Americans.
What would happen to these people? Mr. McCain will give them a small tax credit, $5,000 for a family and $2,500 for an individual, and tell them to navigate the individual insurance market on their own.
For middle- and lower-income people, the credits are way too small. They are less than half the cost of policies today ($12,000 on average for a family), and are far below the 75% that most employers offering coverage contribute. Further, their value would erode over time, as the credit increases less rapidly than average premiums.
Unless you’re John McCain, you can google as well as I can and read and read and read, and in the end? The issue will be who you prefer to carry which and how heavy burdens. It’s really that simple.
Again – you aren’t going to get all kinds of number slicing and dicing from me, and that’s probably a good thing since, again, most Americans just aren’t going to be thinking that way. During the primaries, maybe us wonkier junkies wanted that, and we use the request of specifics as a way to learn more but also obfuscate.
The bottom line for me is: I believe everyone should have health care coverage and I do not trust business alone to do it. I want the government involved to the extent it’s necessary to ensure that all Americans are covered.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:26 am September 17th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Health Care, Ohio, Politics, WH2008
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You can find more details about Obama and McCain’s views on health issues at Your Candidates-Your Health! . Research!America asked each candidate to respond to a 14-question survey about health care, coverage, and research.