Re: McCain's health care plan
- From: "Jerry Okamura" <okamuraj005@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:31:31 -1000
"Islander" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:BIWdnfoBXsaXk0HanZ2dnUVZ_qKgnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here is a glimpse at what John McCain is offering in contrast to the Democratic candidates' plans:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/10/news/economy/tully_healthcare.fortune/index.htm
I'll summarize:
1. McCain suggests that we eliminate the "tax break" that employees get by having their employers pay health care benefits. Health care premiums paid by employers have been excluded from taxes since WWII. Under McCain's plan, that exclusion would be eliminated and if your employer pays health care benefits, you will pay tax on them under McCain's plan. The objective is to eliminate employer provided health care benefits by removing any remaining incentive to provide them. He claims that this burden is increasingly being removed by employers anyway because of the increasing cost.
Sounds like a good idea to me. When we started to give companies the tax incentive to provide the benefit, is when medical price inflation made the switch from being generally below the overall inflation rate, to being generally above the overall inflation rate. I believe that was the result of providing that benefit.
2. McCain then claims that the money that companies would ordinarily pay to insurance companies would be paid to the employee as an increase in wages (this admittedly requires something of an act of faith). The claim is that companies still have to compete for labor so they would, of course, increase wages.
I am not too sure that makes a whole lot of sense.
5. What about the poor who cannot afford health insurance? McCain would increase the tax credit for those who could not afford to purchase health insurance. (ignoring the fact that a tax credit is of no value if you don't have income)
I would much rather have us consider providing the poor with money every year that they can use to pay for their health care needs, and if they do not use that money, to let them have the money... Don't know how and if that would really work though...
There are some obvious problems with McCain's program that are not explained away with his laissez-faire approach: He ignores those with pre-existing conditions and he ignores the problem with how to deny treatment to those who "choose" to not insure themselves.
"If" you choose not to insure yourself, you are gambling that you will not need the insurance. And it is really not such a bad gamble, because if you are poor, you can always get the care you need, if you need it....all you have to do is walk into the nearest emergency room and they will take care of you. But in any event, it is a matter of "choice" whether you want to pay for the insurance or you should not pay for the insurance. We can of course "force" people to pay for the insurance, aka car insurance (but even that does not prevent people from not having the insurance)....
But, the "acts of faith" in believing that *any* of his program would work, in fact would be anything but a gift to companies who want an excuse to avoid paying benefits, could only appeal to those who cling desperately to their right wing ideology.
It is a matter of how do you best control the cost of the healthcare system in this country.
.
- References:
- McCain's health care plan
- From: Islander
- McCain's health care plan
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