Health Care Plans

In last night's debate we heard about health care plans from both candidates. Now, as a nurse and respiratory care practitioner ( I'm retired now ) health care plans/insurance have always been of interest to me. I will agree that Americans have a responsibility to try and keep themselves healthy. However, there are health situations that can crop up unexpectedly and those situations can kill a family's finances. I've read both candidates' plans and McCain's plan is fraught with problems. Take a look at these 2 videos from last night.





Although my preference would be universal health care, I'll be happy with Obama's plan for now. Under his plan small businesses would be exempt from paying a fine for not having employee health care. Large businesses can afford to pay for employee health care. But I have seen and experienced, in the past, how large business reduces benefits in lieu of more profit. If you have an employer-based plan you would be able to keep it and if not you would be able to purchase insurance at a lower cost than you can now.

Obama is correct about the average cost of employer plans for a family of four plan according to National Coalition on Health Care

The annual premium that a health insurer charges an employer for a health plan covering a family of four averaged $12,100 in 2007.

If you didn't have employee health care and had to purchase it you could get a much lower rate by being able to purchase from a large national pool. As a singular family trying to buy insurance now you're screwed. You have no bargaining power or power to request a discount the rate. Another thing to keep in mind is that if someone gets ill and that amounts to many claims your renewal rate will increase or you could find your insurance nonrenewable at present. When you spread the risk over a large pool you pay less.

McCain's plan may sound good but in reality it's not. His plan has the potential to ruin the employer paid health care system we enjoy now. Where would you get the extra thousands to pay for your own plan? Plus, taxing that $5000 he'll give you as income just sucks. I was shocked when McCain condescendingly mocked "Cadillac" plans---oh, you mean like the plan YOU enjoy, John, through your job as a Senator? John likes to throw out that "government will control your health care" line but I don't hear him griping about his government plan.I'd like him to tell me what "transplants" he was mocking with that remark.

McCain's claim of being able to purchase insurance from out of state and of portability don't hold water. His idea is to open up health insurance to the market by deregulation just like the stock market. He actually stated that proposal in a magazine article last month. Needless to say that would be a nightmare. Turning this over to the individual states would be an insurer's dream because the disparity between state regulations on insurance coverage would turn into a circus. I can just see the mess that would create. How would he propose to get every insurer on the same page? How is he going to force insurers to not penalize people with pre-existing conditions? I can already see the Pavlovian insurance dogs salivating.

It's apparent to me that McCain just doesn't get it when it comes to health insurance. He's never had to pay for insurance on the market. Since the day he was born he's been covered by a government sponsored health plan. If he had to go out tomorrow and buy a private plan he'd be in trouble because of his pre-existing cancer. He'd either be paying through the butt, something McCain could actually afford to do, or un-insurable altogether.

This will not be an easy thing to fix but we must at least try to find a way to lower medical costs and provide affordable insurance. I'd welcome any feasible ideas.

The New England Journal of Medicine weighs in on McCain's health care plan and it's not in favor of it.