Fifty-three percent of U.S. adults trust presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) more than presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to address the issue of health care, compared with 33% who trust McCain more than Obama to address the issue, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, the Post reports.
For the poll, conducted between June 12 and 15, TNS interviewed via telephone a random sample of 1,125 adults nationwide. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points (Washington Post graphic, 6/17).
AARP
Medicare should be a key part of discussions about health care reform, advisers to Obama and McCain said on Friday during AARP's Solutions Forum, CQ HealthBeat reports. According to Obama adviser David Cutler, an economics professor at Harvard University, big changes in the private sector are impossible without changes in the public sector. McCain adviser Thomas Miller, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said neither campaign is willing to make significant changes to Medicare, adding it is politically difficult to do so without more public attention paid to the program and because the ground work for changes has not been laid yet. In addition, Miller said that it is also difficult to make changes to Medicare because no one has begun the process.
Both advisers agreed that health care costs are too high and could be reduced by the implementation of health information technology. Cutler one-third to half of all health care spending is not for "anything useful." Miller said the focus of health care is on quantity rather than quality, and called for measuring performance based on outcome. He added that the U.S. should invest in its youth to ensure a young, healthy population in the future. Cutler also advocated for more focus on preventive care. Both advisers discussed their candidates' health care proposals.
According to Cutler, Obama's plan would be financed through expiring tax cuts implemented by President Bush. He added that Obama's proposal would save families about $2,500 annually. Miller countered, saying the current system is already spending too much, and increasing spending or shifting costs are not solutions (Parnass, CQ HealthBeat, 6/16).
McCain and Bush
The New York Times on Tuesday examined the policy similarities and differences between McCain and Bush. McCain's "market-oriented model" for health care is "similar to the one that Mr. Bush proposed to little effect in 2007," according to the Times. McCain, like Bush, is proposing to shift from an employer-based insurance market to privately purchased coverage, offset by a tax subsidy. However, McCain's proposal "is more progressive" than Bush's because it offers a refundable credit of up to $5,000 to families who purchase their own health coverage.
According to the Times, experts question whether a $5,000 tax credit would be enough to cover the cost of private insurance. Experts also note that Bush's plan -- which featured a $15,000 tax deduction for families purchasing private coverage -- "was more valuable to higher-income people."
Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation president and CEO, said, "In general, they're much more similar than different," adding, "In terms of their goals, they're more focused on making the market more efficient than in expanding coverage" (Bumiller, New York Times, 6/17).
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