Forty-seven million people in the United States currently do not have health insurance . They clog hospital emergency rooms day and night seeking routine care for such things as a sore throat or simple viruses. People seriously in need of care often must wait hours because of this growing problem of uninsureds using our emergency rooms as clinics.

This care then must be absorbed by the hospital by paying or insured customers, who are forced to pay more to compensate for those who pay nothing. That drives up costs for the insured patient, which then is passed on to the insured by his insurer through reduced benefits, higher premiums, higher deductibles or sometimes all three!

Hospitals also pass on the cost of expensive diagnostic equipment through the bills they submit to insurance companies. They further pass on the cost of treating Medicare patients under the forced agreement with the federal government to accept less money to treat Medicare patients. This is known as "cost shifting", that is, shifting some of the cost of Medicare patients to the insurer of younger patients.

All these factors have contributed to the cost of health care rising five times faster per year than adjusted raises for inflation. Within a decade, health care costs will consume 20% of our economy.

Both candidates realize that we MUST reform our health care system. We'll begin with McCain.

IT'S A FACT: JOHN MCCAIN WANTS TO REFORM THE TAX CODE SO THAT HE CAN TAX YOUR HEALTH CARE BENEFITS. THAT IS WHERE HE PLANS TO GET THE $2,500 PER INDIVIDUAL AND THE $5,000 PER FAMILY THAT HE PLANS TO GIVE BACK TO THE BIG INSURANCE FAT CATS. IT'S THE SAME OLD REPUBLICAN GARRBAGE. LINE BIG COMPANIES'POCKETS WITH THE LITTLE GUY'S MONEY. BY THE WAY, HE CONVENIENTLY FORGETS TO MENTION THIS ON HIS WEBSITE.

$5,000 WILL NOT BEGIN TO COVER WHAT INSURANCE COMPANIES CHARGE A FAMILY FOR A POLICY, EVEN WITH A HIGH DEDUCTIBLE. iNDIVIDUAL FAMILY PLANS RUN ABOUT $12,000 A YEAR.


1.John McCain Will Reform The Tax Code To Offer More Choices Beyond Employer-Based Health Insurance Coverage. (By the way, at the current time, employers, with the exception of small businesses, who are exempt due to the prohibitive cost) receive a $12,000 tax break to offer major medical plans to their employees They can also deduct cost sharing on the premium for these plans (See previous article on major medical plans.)

While still having the option of employer-based coverage, every family will receive a direct refundable tax credit - effectively cash - of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance. Families will be able to choose the insurance provider that suits them best and the money would be sent directly to the insurance provider. In other words, an employer is not bound by his company's insurance plan. Those obtaining innovative insurance that costs less than the credit can deposit the remainder in expanded Health Savings Accounts.

It's a Fact: It takes an act of Congress to reform the tax code. John McCain will have one hell of a fight on his hands when he begins to tackle reforming the tax code under a Democratically controlled Congress.

. John McCain Will Encourage And Expand The Benefits Of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) For Families.

It's a Fact: John McCain does not want to be tied to George Bush but at the heart of his health plan is a George Bush stategy that was passed as part of the Part D Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage in 2003.

The real secret to what McCain wants people to do who are uninsured or unhappy with their current coverage through their employer is to agree to take a plan with a high deductible and to establish a health savings account (HSA) to help pay for costs of the deductible and other health care costs.

It's a Myth: This will lower health care costs to the individual. McCain's plan will actually cost more in out-of-pocket expenses and higher deductibles. How does McCain think the average family can pay $5,000 a year out-of-pocket, pay a premium, and put money is a health savings account each month. People are having trouble paying their out-of pocket costs now! Yes, it will lower premiums; it will also result in far more--not far less people having no coverage at all.

Plans with high deductibles of $2,500, $5,000, or even $10,000 dollars have been around in the private insurance sector for a long time. The only new concept here is the tax-free HSA added to them and the fact that some companies are now offering this as an option--not a requirement--for their employees. Employers can still elect to pay part of the premium cost under an HSA plan, but they will not be bound by law to do so.



To better understand how this works, let's look at an example: suppose that we decide to take out an HSA plan. We select an annual deductible of $5,000.



We will just use $100 per month as an example. The nice thing about this $100 is that it is not taxed when it goes in or when it comes out, so long as it is used for health purposes.



It means that we have agreed to pay ALL our medical costs up to $5,000 out of our pocket, or we can choose to withdraw tax-free dollars from our HSA to pay for some or all these costs, depending on how much is in our account, which does roll over to the next year if not depleted. Once we reach our $5000 dollar deductible in any one year, the rest of our medical costs are paid by the insurer at 100%. HSA's also eliminate the HMO or PPO concept allowing patients to receive care from the physician of their choice.



It's a Myth: People enrolled in these plans are highly satisfied and recommend them to everyone.

According to the Commonwealth Fund, early experience with HSA-eligible high-deductible health plans reveals low satisfaction, high out-of-pocket costs, and cost-related access problems.[17] A survey conducted with the Employee Benefits Research Institute found that people enrolled in HSA-eligible high-deductible health plans were much less satisfied with many aspects of their health care than adults in more comprehensive plans:

3. John McCain Will Work With States To Establish A Guaranteed Access Plan. . One approach would establish a nonprofit corporation that would contract with insurers to cover patients who have been denied insurance and could join with other state plans to enlarge pools and lower overhead costs. There would be reasonable limits on premiums, and assistance would be available for Americans below a certain income level.



It's a Myth: I don't see this happening, because it would require one of two things to happen. Either all state insurance departments would have to adopt identical requirements for this plan or a national insurance board would have to be established to govern such a plan. More Federal regulation and more tax cost to the consumer.



4. CHEAPER DRUGS: Lowering Drug Prices. John McCain will look to bring greater competition to our drug markets through safe re-importation of drugs and faster introduction of generic drugs. Re-importation, or buying drugs from foreign but produced in the USA is currently prohibited by the FDA).



It's a Myth: Many people are already defying the FDA and purchasing drugs from Mexico and Canada over the internet. The same drug companies sell these drugs at a considerably lower price to foreign pharmacies than to American pharmacy firms. Congress has tried to pass this legislation for years, but the powerful drug company and the RegPh lobbyists have always managed to get it defeated.

8. MEDICAID AND MEDICARE: Reforming The Payment System To Cut Costs. We must reform the payment systems in Medicaid and Medicare to compensate providers for diagnosis, prevention and care coordination. Medicaid and Medicare should not pay for preventable edical errors or mismanagement.

It's a Myth: What McCain really wants to do is to cut Medicare and Medicaid benefits even more. Already many physicians have quit accepting Medicare and Medicaid patients because of the low reimbursements and exclusions from coverage placed on this crucial care for our senior citizens and disabled, many already struggling to meet their health and daily living costs. This forces our Seniors and disabled often to forego new and valuable treatments because Medicare won't cover them or the physician performing them will not accept Medicare and Medicaid patients any longer.



STATE FLEXIBILITY: Encouraging States To Lower Costs. States should have the flexibility to experiment with alternative forms of access, coordinated payments per episode covered under Medicaid, use of private insurance in Medicaid, alternative insurance policies and different licensing schemes for providers.

TORT REFORM: Passing Medical Liability Reform. We must pass medical liability reform that eliminates lawsuits directed at doctors who follow clinical guidelines and adhere to safety protocols.





It's A Myth: How can one determine if the doctor followed clinical guidelines and adhered to saftey protocols without a trial? Are we going to rely on the AMA to tell us? Give me a break!



TRANSPARENCY: Bringing Transparency To Health Care Costs. We must make public more information on treatment options and doctor records.

It's A Myth: McCain, get your head out of your arse. This is in direct violation of the fourth amendment! This enroaches on individuals' rights to privacy and physician-patient confidentiality.



Confronting the Long-Term Challenge

John McCain Will Develop A Strategy For Meeting The Challenge Of A Population Needing Greater Long-Term Care. There have been a variety of state-based experiments such as Cash and Counseling or The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) that are pioneering approaches for delivering care to people in a home setting. Seniors are given a monthly stipend which they can use to hire workers and purchase care-related services and goods. They can get help managing their care by designating representatives, such as relatives or friends, to help make decisions. It also offers counseling and bookkeeping services to assist consumers in handling their programmatic responsibilities.

It's A Myth: The real cost to the taxpayer are the people who will need long term care in a controlled environment, such as a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Most of these people will end up on Medicaid. ( Not to be confused with Medicare. Medicaid is welfare, plain and simply stated.) As the population ages, this cost will balloon to an unbelievable level. I speak from experience. I took care of my mother for five years in my home. It nearly drove me crazy, but I stayed with it until her need for care exceeded my ability to care for her. She has now been in a nursing home for seven years, with Medicaid picking up most of the cost.

[Thanks to Wikipedia and John McCain's official website for this information. To view McCain's other health care options, go to John McCain's official website]






People in these plans allocate substantial amounts of income to their health care, especially those who have poorer health or lower incomes.





Adults in high-deductible health plans are far more likely to delay or avoid getting needed care, or to skip medications, because of the cost. Problems are particularly pronounced among those with poorer health or lower incomes.





Few Americans in any health plan have the information they need to make decisions. Just 12 to 16 percent of insured adults have information from their health plan about the quality or cost of care provided by their doctors and hospitals