Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Health-Care Contrasts, Pt.6 – Similar cost, very different outcome.

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In order for the health insurance industry to even consider a mandate to cover all of the ‘uninsurable’ they stand firm on their demand of a mandate of ‘all citizens’, including the healthy to acquire health insurance. Mr. Obama is not committed to this mandate yet, though it’s almost certain to be an important element in future negotiations with ‘big health insurance’. The Wyden Proposal, Pioneered by Senator Ted Kennedy, is already geared up for this issue.

As far as the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center’s report, Mr. Obama's health insurance plan would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years. They project that Mr. McCain's health insurance plan would cost almost as much. They predict his plan would cost about $1.3 trillion over the same time span. Neither proposal is expected to substantially reduce health care costs.

The McCain plan, appears to be geared more toward those who already have health insurance. His plan would mostly benefit the wealthy by giving them better choices while not raising their taxes. It must be noted that, at this point, there are still too many ‘preliminary vagaries’ in both plans to make comprehensive predictions. This is true for both: The Tax Policy Center’s report and that of the Health Affairs Journal report.

One thing is very clear, however from the proposals. They do contrast very sharply from one another as far as what voters should expect. Though Obama’s plan projects universal coverage, it may fall short by 26%, but will eclipse Mr. McCain’s plan on this issue. Mr. McCain’s plan is expected to seriously challenge today's conventional employer-based health insurance system, presently providing coverage for 170 million Americans.

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