Advisers to the two major presidential candidates during an online debate on the Wall Street Journal Web site discussed the effect that their health care proposals would have on the employer-sponsored health insurance market, the Journal's "Health Blog" reports.
As part of his plan, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has proposed to have private health plans and a new public plan compete in the health insurance market, with subsidies to help low-income residents purchase coverage. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as part of his plan has proposed to replace a tax break for employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable tax credit for families to purchase private coverage.
David Cutler, health care policy adviser to Obama, said that the Obama proposal would "shore up the employment-based system, not tear it down: lower premiums that firms face through investments in information technology and prevention; create a setting where individuals and small firms can buy insurance the way that large firms do; make sure that insurers cannot exclude firms because one employee is sick."
Jay Khosla, health care policy adviser to McCain, said that the McCain proposal "simply aims to bring equity and choice to our health care system, including allowing American families to keep their current coverage." He added, "The McCain plan gives American families a $5,000 refundable tax credit ($2,500 for individuals) to give them more choices to purchase portable coverage that would stay with them from 'job to job' or 'job to home.' His plan directly and comprehensively addresses the single biggest threat" to employer-sponsored health insurance -- "rising costs" (Rubenstein, "Health Blog," Wall Street Journal, 8/11).
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Wednesday profiled the Obama and McCain health care proposals (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 8/13).
Opinion Pieces
Three newspapers recently published opinion pieces that addressed health care issues in the presidential election. Summaries appear below.