John McCain announces his health care plan
Call it McCainCare ... Sen. John McCain has unveiled his healthcare plan, and we're in the process right now of updating our special, Health Matters in the 2008 Election, to reflect his new plan.
Meanwhile, here are a few highlights.
In a speech given in Des Moines, Iowa today, McCain said the cost of health care disturbs "the sleep of more Americans than any single domestic issue" and we are approaching a "perfect storm" of problems with our health care system.
Instead of focusing on any kind of mandate to cover the uninsured, as some Democrats stress, McCain cites spiraling costs as his chief concern -- and the true source of our healthcare ills.
He says the foundation of his health care plan will rest on three goals:
1) Paying only for quality care.
2) Offering diverse insurance choices responsive to individual needs.
3) Restoring a sense of personal responsibility.
Indeed, McCain puts a strong emphasis on accountability, both among the private sector, and among patients. His plan would espouse setting national standards for measuring treatments and outcomes. Doctors' performances would be rated, and errors deemed "preventable" and hospitalizations "unnecessary" would not be covered by Medicare. And that, McCain acknowledges, will present some friction.
While McCain stresses that Americans take responsibility for preventing "expensive, chronic disease," he also wants to provide tax credits of $2,500 to individuals and $5,000 to families, whether or not they already have insurance. He proposes allowing people to buy insurance nationwide (currently prohibited by state-to-state regulations). McCain also supports the use of walk-in clinics like those popping up in retail outlets across the country.
Similar to other Republicans' plans, this one does stress market-based solutions. More competition among insurers would means lower costs for consumers -- and McCain stridently says he's against a "one-size-fits-all-big government takeover of health care."
According to the Associated Press, McCain's campaign provided no estimated cost for any of his plans.
We'll keep you updated.
Sean Swint
Executive Editor, WebMD
(Patrick Adams contributed to this report).
Meanwhile, here are a few highlights.
In a speech given in Des Moines, Iowa today, McCain said the cost of health care disturbs "the sleep of more Americans than any single domestic issue" and we are approaching a "perfect storm" of problems with our health care system.
Instead of focusing on any kind of mandate to cover the uninsured, as some Democrats stress, McCain cites spiraling costs as his chief concern -- and the true source of our healthcare ills.
He says the foundation of his health care plan will rest on three goals:
1) Paying only for quality care.
2) Offering diverse insurance choices responsive to individual needs.
3) Restoring a sense of personal responsibility.
Indeed, McCain puts a strong emphasis on accountability, both among the private sector, and among patients. His plan would espouse setting national standards for measuring treatments and outcomes. Doctors' performances would be rated, and errors deemed "preventable" and hospitalizations "unnecessary" would not be covered by Medicare. And that, McCain acknowledges, will present some friction.
While McCain stresses that Americans take responsibility for preventing "expensive, chronic disease," he also wants to provide tax credits of $2,500 to individuals and $5,000 to families, whether or not they already have insurance. He proposes allowing people to buy insurance nationwide (currently prohibited by state-to-state regulations). McCain also supports the use of walk-in clinics like those popping up in retail outlets across the country.
Similar to other Republicans' plans, this one does stress market-based solutions. More competition among insurers would means lower costs for consumers -- and McCain stridently says he's against a "one-size-fits-all-big government takeover of health care."
According to the Associated Press, McCain's campaign provided no estimated cost for any of his plans.
We'll keep you updated.
Sean Swint
Executive Editor, WebMD
(Patrick Adams contributed to this report).
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4 Comments:
What do I think? Not very much, I'm afraid. It seems like a poorly considered "me too" effort that is short on substance. However, I'm not an expert so the following is just my impression, okay? No death threats please.
The cheapest policy available to me here in NJ is $3,600 a year. McCain's tax credit would allow me to shave about $540 dollars a year off that figure. Chuh. BTW, there are no HSA's available in NJ and no cheaper policies that offer catastrophic coverage only. What I would like is a catastrophic coverage-only policy for $100 a month. I'll pay for my drugs and checkups.
McCain proposes to institute national competition among insurance companies to drive down premium cost. Let's be extremely generous and estimate that will reduce costs by 25%. Coverage for a family of four would still be about $9,000 a year. Gulp.
He wants Americans to "take responsibility" for prevention of chronic illness. I agree in principle, but how far can that take one? After all, conventional wisdom says that anyone who "really wants to" can lose as much weight as they want; it's just ignorance, gluttony and sloth that make people overweight, so if we penalize people for not having the 'right' BMI and cholesterol and blood pressure, they will change their behavior and everything will be fine. The problem is the conventional wisdom is wrong. I recommend the "Junkfood Science" blog as well as Gina Kolata's "Rethinking Thin" on the subject of obesity. Bariatric surgery for everyone is not the answer, either.
Also, apparently it's a doctor's fault if his diabetic patient doesn't have the "right" A1C, so let's punish him, too - bad doctor! Say, where will the people with high A1C's go after their doctors drop them? Can't say.
I really can't see anyone getting excited about his plan or about McCain himself. He apparently created this plan as an afterthought and I suspect after today it will disappear into the ether and never be referred to again.
i Pay way to much for health insurance while Illegals get it free. Come on McCain wake up.
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