McCain’s Flawed Health Care Plan

This morning on Face The Nation one of the Democratic speakers commented about John MCain’s health plan that will result in higher taxes on health care provided by employers. I researched this issue on the internet. Here is what I found.

John McCain’s plan is vague. He is opposed to any kind of universal health plan. He thinks that more competition will lower the cost of medical insurance. It’s not true. Here in California there are 118 companies licensed by the state. They provide group and/or individual coverage. Is that enough competition? It doesn’t help because most people are insured by the very big companies. That is a handful of insurers. Most of those same big insurance companies are in almost every other state. The names are familiar to everyone. They are Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, Golden Rule, Mutual of Omaha, Pacificare, Hartford Life, and United Health Care. In Mr. McCain’s Arizona there are 39 companies licensed to sell group insurance and another 13 licensed to sell individual plans. I checked Arkansas and most of the same big companies are selling insurance there too.

McCain’s plan according to almost every report I have read will end employer income tax deduction for the expense of providing medical insurance. Some reports have even said that the employees themselves will have to declare the cost of the insurance provided as part of their income. Those actions would result in a tax increase for both individuals and companies. The result would likely be that companies will stop providing medical insurance to their employees.

This one issue alone is reason enough to vote for Barack Obama.

Need Health Care? Vote for Barack Obama

There is no guarantee that any proposed legislation will ever be passed by Congress. I am sure that many good ideas have never been enacted into law. The reasons are probably more than I know. However, I do know that politics, religion and lobbyists do impact which laws are passed and which never get beyond a hearing committee.

The current fight over oil drilling off the coast of the United States is a good example of politics impacting the granting of those rights. When Nancy Peolsi, Speaker of the House, proposes that the government should release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gasoline prices, you know she is playing a political card. Those reserves will only last for two months of American demand. This action is no more likely to reduce gasoline prices than John McCain’s proposal to grant oil drilling rights that will take 10 years until there is delivered results.

Many religious groups oppose gay marriage. It’s not just conservative Christians who oppose these marriages. On the Reform Jewish web site “Traditional Judaism has seen – and continues to see – homosexuality as an abomination.” We all know that Islam does not accept homosexuality. These same groups have positions on many other topics too. The Republican Party is swayed by those religious conservatives in their voting patterns. John McCain thinks about the religious right quite a bite. Just recall his refusal to take a position on birth control pills when asked about the use of Viagra vs. those pills .

Lobbyists are everywhere. Those hired mouth pieces that attempt to sway the vote on everything from farm subsidies to support for national public radio. Big pharma, big oil, auto manufacturers, etc. all have their hired lobbyists. Those lobbyists would not have those high paying jobs if they were not successful. Just enter “K Street Lobbyists” in your search engine and you find all kinds of interesting things.

Will there be universal health care in this country? Honestly, I doubt it. Hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies will send a legion of lobbyists to fight the idea. The scare tactic will be the words “socialized medicine.” Still, Barack Obama does support the idea of universal health care <http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/#coverage-for-all>. John McCain is opposed to universal health care <http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm>. Check their web sites and you will see their positions.

This highlights the difference between Barack Obama and John McCain. Barack Obama says he will fight for change. This is just one of many issues where Americans need this fight.

Kaiser Permanente

Both my wife and I have coverage at Kaiser Permanente. I am covered under their Senior Advantage plan at the same rate as Medicare Part A and B. That includes Medicare Part A and B, special rates for lab test other procedures and they provide low cost prescription drugs as well. My wife is not old enough to qualify for Medicare and we must pay the premium for the group in the age range 60 to 65. That amounts to $387 per month and we pay a $50 co-pay for each office visit. Her plan does not provide any drug plan thus many of her prescriptions are filled at Costco.

Talking to friends and relatives, I find many either love or intensely dislike Kaiser. I call it the McDonald’s of health care because they fill the needs of most people at a low cost. The nearby facility in Woodland Hills, California has a hospital, all the labs, urgent care, and doctor examination facilities for every imaginable kind of ailment. It is truly a “one stop facility” for all your medical needs.

There are doctors there that I do not like but there are many that are very good. When I collapsed at a party with vertigo on a Saturday night my wife took me to urgent care. They put me through a battery of test that included a brain scan at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning. They came up with the vertigo diagnosis.

What is wrong with Kaiser? They rarely send patients outside of their facilities for any treatment. They most likely will not send you to City of Hope, UCLA, Mayo Clinic, etc. The big advantage of a PPO is that you can go to those famed hospitals and the doctor of your choice.