,Compiled by Courtney Baird
With the cost of healthcare rising and with millions of Americans lacking
insurance, Sens. John McCain, R- Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., have proposed lofty healthcare reform. Here is a summary of what the presidential candidates say they will accomplish if elected.
According to Obama’s Web site, he has proposed a healthcare plan “that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress,” or the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
– Available to everyone, affordable, guaranteed eligibility.
– Benefits such as preventive, maternity and mental healthcare.
– Subsidies for patients who do not qualify for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
– Small Business Health Tax Credit that would give a tax credit for the premiums small businesses pay for their employees.
– $10 billion investment in electronically filed patient healthcare records to reduce costs and prevent medical errors.
– National Health Exchange to increase competition among insurance companies.
– Reduce costs by allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies over drug prices.
– Allow Americans to purchase cheaper drugs from developed countries, as well as increase the number of generic drugs on the market and in government-sponsored health programs such as Medicaid.
McCain’s Web site says that the “key to healthcare reform is to restore control to the patients themselves.”
– Allow people to use tax credits to purchase insurance plans other than their employer-based plans.
– Patients have the option to purchase insurance plans across state lines, thus increasing competition among insurers.
– Use technology to give patients access to doctors who live in different states.
– Establish a nonprofit corporation to give high-risk patients or those with pre-existing conditions access to affordable healthcare. The organization would contract with insurers and allow patients from around the U.S. to pool together to lower their overhead costs.
– Lower the cost of drugs by importing them from developed countries and by introducing generic drugs more quickly than they are now.
– Reform Medicaid and Medicare’s payment systems.
– Reduce healthcare costs by curbing the number of frivolous malpractice lawsuits.
– Give states the option to try alternative forms of healthcare plans.
