McCain Health Plan

The Argument

There are probably a hundred good arguments against the McCain plan. However, in order to be heard, health care advocates need to stick to—and repeat—our very best arguments. It is clear that the top three arguments are:

1. The McCain plan will cause most Americans to lose their current health insurance coverage. 158 million Americans are covered through benefits they get at work and the whole point of the McCain plan is to cut this link and make us all struggle to find individual health insurance plans. Remember the scramble for Medicare drug insurance? This would be 100 times worse.

2. The McCain plan will leave Americans with preexisting health conditions at the mercy of private insurance companies. The 56 million Americans with chronic illnesses wouldn’t even be able to qualify for individual coverage. McCain’s suggestion that he will “work with governors” to save these Americans from catastrophic loss is half-baked, untried and downright dangerous.

3. The McCain plan will increase health care costs for most Americans. First, a $5,000 tax credit doesn’t begin to cover family health insurance, which averages over $12,000 per year. Second, the plan wipes out the group risk pools that keep insurance down for middle-aged individuals and families. Those of us over age 35 would be socked with insurance cost increases. [Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation]

Progressive Solution

Guarantee quality affordable health care for all. Health coverage must be affordable, with premiums and out-of-pocket costs based on a family’s ability to pay. The progressive health care alternative emphasizes consumer choice, affordability and quality. Individuals would have the right to keep the coverage they have now if they like it, or could choose either a public, Medicare-style insurance plan or one of an array of regulated private plans. Employers would be expected to cover their employees or pay into a fund for the public plan.

Prevent insurance companies from taking advantage of working Americans. Under a progressive health care system, Americans are given a choice. If you currently have insurance you like, you can keep it. If you prefer, you can choose from the kind of regulated private plans now available to Congress, or opt into a new public insurance plan. The public insurance option will help force private companies to offer competitively-priced, quality care.

Contain Health Costs. A progressive health care system will save up to $120 billion as we emphasize preventative care, move toward electronic medical records, and decrease the number of costly emergency room visits.

Establish a public mandate for quality, affordable health care for all. Health Care for America Now—a coalition launched by the Campaign for America’s future and over 100 national and local organizations—is asking a big question of individuals and candidates for office at all levels: Which side are you on when it comes to America’s health care future? Will you support guaranteed, affordable coverage with real choices, or will you follow the conservative approach and put Americans at the mercy of private insurers? The overall HCAN goal is a nationwide discussion with average people, grassroots community leaders, elected officials, experts and opinion leaders all coming together to demand health care action—making the 2008 election a mandate for the right kind of change in 2009.

Fast Facts

John McCain's health care plan contains few details, but here are the main principles:

The McCain plan uses the tax code to push Americans away from the health insurance coverage they get at work and into the individual insurance market. Currently, employer payments for health insurance are not taxable to the employee as income. The McCain plan would end that tax exemption, eliminating the incentive for employer-based coverage. McCain would instead offer a tax credit of $5,000 for families/$2,500 for individuals for health insurance payments, which is nowhere near enough money to compensate for the loss of employer-based coverage. [McCain On the Issues] Nine out of 10 Americans with private health insurance—158 million Americans—receive it through an employer. [Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation] So the McCain plan directly threatens the coverage of more than half of all Americans.

The McCain plan fails to require insurance companies to cover patients with preexisting health conditions. Pushing Americans to individual insurance plans means that those with preexisting health conditions—from asthma to cancer—will be unable to obtain affordable coverage. For the 56 million Americans with chronic illnesses who are currently covered by benefits they get at work, the effects would be devastating. [Center for American Progress Action Fund] McCain concedes this point and now claims he “will work with governors to develop a best practice model that states can follow” to create health insurance products for “high risk” patients. However, this fig leaf fails to cover the ugly truth—although 34 states have some kind of high-risk health insurance pool, there are no successful state models for insuring a large number of individuals who are denied coverage because of preexisting health conditions. [Health Insurance Resource Center]

The McCain plan wipes away nearly all existing regulation of health insurance, leaving us to deal with private insurance companies on our own. The McCain plan would overrule patient protections in state law by allowing people in one state to purchase insurance from any other state. Just as credit card companies moved their operations to Delaware to avoid state regulations, health insurance companies would move to states with the least regulation. As a result, states would “race to the bottom”—eliminating existing regulations—in order to attract those companies. Right now, mammograms must be covered in every state except Utah—we’d lose that. Mental health must be covered in every state except Alaska, North Carolina and Wyoming—we’d lose that. Mothers who give birth are guaranteed a minimum hospital stay in every state except Wisconsin—we’d lose that. Breast reconstruction must be covered in every state except two. Family health insurance must cover adopted children in all states except seven. Chiropractors must be covered in all states but four. There are nearly 2,000 state laws protecting patients from inadequate health insurance—we’d lose them all. [Council for Affordable Health Insurance]