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Senior Citizen Politics
McCains Proposed Health Care Overhaul Could Impact
Senior Citizens, Veterans
Wants vets able to go to any health care provider,
no Medicare pay for medical errors, more retail health clinics
 Oct. 12, 2007 - Republican presidential candidate
Sen.
John McCain (Ariz.) on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, plans to
announce a health care proposal that would seek to expand coverage
through tax incentives and give people "more control and more choices,"
the
AP/Long Island Newsday reports (Sidoti, AP/Long Island Newsday,
10/11).
According to the Wall Street Journal, unlike other
presidential candidates, McCain's plan would focus on controlling health
care costs rather that reducing the number of uninsured residents.
The
Journal reports that McCain's strategy "could provide a compelling
argument for voters," as the "majority of whom have health insurance but
may be frustrated with rising premiums, copayments and other
out-of-pocket costs."
In addition, consensus is growing that the current
rate of health spending growth is unsustainable and something must be
done to control health costs, according to the Journal (Meckler, Wall
Street Journal, 10/11). Among other provisions, the proposal would:
● Provide veterans with an electronic health care
card that allows them to visit any health care provider;
● Revise the Medicare reimbursement system to pay
providers for diagnosis, prevention and care coordination but not for
preventable medical errors or mismanagement;
● Promote retail health clinics (AP/Long Island
Newsday, 10/11);
● Offer "new incentives for both patients and
doctors to emphasize prevention and wellness" (Santora,
New York Times, 10/11);
● Shift some health care from physicians to
lower-cost nurse practitioners; and
● Promote the market entry of lower-cost generic
medications and biotechnology treatments (Wall Street Journal, 10/11).
In addition, the proposal would seek to expand
health insurance to more U.S. residents. The proposal would provide tax
credits of $2,500 to lower-income individuals and $5,000 to lower-income
families to help purchase private health insurance. Under the proposal,
residents could purchase health insurance in any state through
organizations, associations, employers or health insurers. However, the
proposal would not require residents to obtain health insurance.
Aides for McCain did not estimate the cost of the
proposal but said McCain would end a provision in the tax code that
allows employers to deduct the cost of health insurance to help pay for
the plan. In addition, they said that McCain would seek to enact
legislation to eliminate frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits and
excessive damage awards to help reduce costs.
Comments
In a statement, McCain said, "We are approaching a
'perfect storm' of problems that if not addressed by the next president
will cause our health care system to implode," adding, "I offer a
genuinely conservative vision for health care reform, which preserves
the most essential value of American lives -- freedom" (AP/Long Island
Newsday, 10/11).
Gail Wilensky, a health care policy expert at
Project Hope, said, "There's been too much focus on the uninsured,
not that it's not important," adding, "If there is a crisis ... it is
much more the unsustainable spending."
According to Robert Blendon, a health care policy
and public opinion expert at the
Harvard School of Public Health, "While everybody is worried about
the problem (of rising costs) in the abstract, the cures can look very
threatening." He added, "People have not found a politically acceptable
way to defeat the problem" (Wall Street Journal, 10/11).
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