Proposed Presidential Healthcare Plans

,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.