BlogHer - The nitty-gritty of John McCain’s health care plan - Comments

Pre-existing Conditions

Leplusjeune — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:39:44 -0500

I'm glad to see the above addressed. This is a huge problem. For instance, I have a friend now who was diagnosed with lung cancer, unfortunately, after he moved to Florida for a new job and new insurance. His insurer claimed it's a pre-existing condition even though it was diagnosed under his new plan, and only covered partial treatment.

LePlusJeune - proud Independent

www.remodelle.net

Health Care Is Not A Handout Program

Gena Haskett — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:13:43 -0500

It should be thought of as a birthright of "all" Americans. I have friends who do have insurance who are getting royally jerked around. They cannot access treatment options without delays, weird justifications or even seeing the same doctor twice.

Insurance companies are for-profit operations. You shouldn't have to fight the insurance companies tooth and nail to access proper treatment.

HSA aren't going to help when you are financial prohibited from accessing the medical professionals that you need to consult with. That includes doctors of osteopathy, alternative medicine and a base level prevention/screening program.

That GAP plan that you speak of is already in place in many states. It is just as costly as commercial insurance programs. Very few people have $500 per month to contribute to a plan that penalizes you for having being sick in the first place.

Not having insurance also leads to delays in treatment, limited options and being at the mercy of the state health care system that is crushing under the weight of medically indigent adults and children. We have people waiting in ERs for 48-78 hours. People are dying waiting for treatment.

I would ask for a national dialog with consumers, health care providers and the government (not I did not say the insurance or pharmaceutical industry) to craft better health care options.

I'm not saying that it has to be government run program. If FEMA is any indication of government to consumer services yeah, I'd be a little concerned. Certainly we can do better than what we currently have before us.
Gena - Out On The Stoop

McCain's healthcare plan

Therextras — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:06:57 -0500

Thank you, Carly, for speaking for the party and the candidate who will keep our country safe and work towards more citizen discretion in spending money. In general, I believe tax credits work for the greater good and benefit the American economy. However, in the narrow perception of trading tax credits for insurance premiums, (see previous comment by lawyermama) this part of the plan is easily struck-down. Separating tax credits from healthcare would improve representation of both concepts to the citizens. I wish for any national spokesperson to effectively represent these two concepts:1) Anything costs more to citizens if the citizens give their money to the government to manage and give back to the citizens in services. This is true of healthcare. Large numbers of persons are paid just to manage or administer billing and reimbursement of physician services and pharmaceuticals through insurance companies and companies contracted with the federal government to administer Medicare. American citizens have been duped to believing that healthcare is paid by someone else when it is really their own money, reduced by an inefficient system. 2) Insurance does not equal healthcare. The job of an insurance company is to collect premiums and restrict payment for services. Insurance is not healthcare, but the administration of healthcare. The numbers of people without insurance misrepresents the numbers of people who have difficulty getting healthcare. Misconstruing insurance as healthcare causes people to believe that self-funding healthcare is somehow wrong (HSAs). Portability would be perfectly achieved if money could be exchanged directly with providers for services. The creation of ANY new system or layer or procedure on top of the current ‘system’ is less than convincing for any one who takes responsibility for their own health. For those who depend on the ‘system’ and are looking for a solution to their particular dilemma – it’s impossible to meet all their demands, which only increase with every new program. The government has entered into an enabling relationship with people dependent on healthcare. Think Welfare. I support a reduction of federal involvement in healthcare; eliminate the federal portion of Medicaid. Let each state take care of its own. I am sincerely grateful for your work on behalf of Senator McCain. I sincerely believe streamlining the message is worthwhile. I hope you will read the post by William Stillman on BasilandSpice linked in the previous comment (thanks, Kelly!).

Autism And The HealthCare Plans of McCain And Obama

Kelly Jadon — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:27:36 -0500

As more and more children are diagnosed with autism or related disorder, the costs of therapy (like cancer there is no cure) for those with autism are enormous. Many families are without financial means for treatment, and options are controversial, even within the insurance industry.

Recently, we posted a blog by self-advocate, author, and nationally
recognized speaker William Stillman regarding his outlook on the health
care plans of the candidates for those with autism or who care for someone
who is autistic.

Kelly Jad'on

www.BasilAndSpice.com

Playing American Roulette

shelleyp — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:27:23 -0500

To add to the other well stated concerns expressed in these comments...

One of the largest expenditures related to health coverage in this country is the costs of having to deal with any number of private insurers, with their various agendas about what they will or will not cover. We spend more on health care and get less primarily because of chaotic "free market" nature of our health care coverage.

John McCain's plan not only would continue to support such chaos, by all measurements it would add to it -- private pools, split among insurers, somewhat funded by various entities...this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Add to this the growing inadequacy of our health insurance providers. High deductibles, disallowed procedures, obtuse rules meant to deprive people of the heath care we need--why on earth would we want to give these people more business? They don't deserve the business they have.

We can no longer put at risk the health of our country in order to subsidize private business. It's time for the US to join the rest of the civilized world and provide universal health care.

I am playing that saddest of games, American roulette. I am without
health coverage, in my early 50s, and with a family history of cancer.
I fully expect to be dead before I'm 60, because I live in a country
where basic health care is deemed to be a luxury one must earn; where
politicians toss out tax credits, which are nothing more than placebos
when what we really need is a real cure.

And what if you don't pay taxes?

norarachel — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 -0500

I appreciate that health insurance is costly for almost everyone, but the idea that tax credits and HSAs are going to do the trick seems to miss the fact that many of the uninsured are lower income working people. Many people do not pay enough in taxes to make the tax credit work for them. Even those who could benefit from a tax credit can not wait until April to get paid back for the money they must shell out for premiums all through the year.

Tax credits do not target the help to those who need it most. People who make six figures probably do not need as much help paying for premiums as those who make $20,000/year. I did not see anything in the plan about targeting the tax credits or doing other things to help low income working families.

Also - the research on HSAs is not showing a benefit for low income people. You have to be able to (1) buy the HSA and high deductible health plan, and (2) pay the $5,000-10,000 deductible should should you need any services. Yes, you have insurance once you pay the deductible, but until then many lower income people will forgo NEEDED services because they can't afford to pay for it. It is a disgrace that we can't go further to help our fellow Americans.

Nora

http://www.nonlineargirl.com

My Family, Like Millions of Others, Need Affordable Health Care

Erin Kotecki Vest — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:36:01 -0500

First of all, welcome (again) to BlogHer. I'm very pleased to see you posting- and enjoyed your previous podcast.

This month is the first month my children and I are not covered under my husband's work provided medical insurance. We now pay $771 out of pocket monthly. In many families this would mean financial disaster and I have begun taking on additional work to help defray the costs.

In 2003 my father was diagnosed with a heart condition and Lukemia -once his cobra and disability ran out, my mother had to find employment SIMPLY to find health insurance for herself.

I've watched and then yelled at my OWN father for skipping certain medications because he thought they were 'too expensive.'

This country's health care system is beyond broken. And simply modifying what exists will not help my family.
Our entirely lives now focus on 'keeping' health insurance.

I'd have to agree with Lawyer Mama in the comment above me, in that the McCain plan relies on States that currently would never be able to comply. And at $5000, I couldn't cover my family- even if that was reduced drastically in a 'competitive' market.

We need radical change.

And yes, we also need birth control coverage instead of Viagra coverage.

I'd like to see Senator McCain really be a Maverick and think outside the box on this one. My family is counting on it.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Chronic Conditions

LawyerMama — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:26:54 -0500

There are 2 major problems I see here. First, $5000 can't cover a family of 4 under a private insurance plan unless it covers almost nothing or has an insanely high deductible. The other major problem I see is that McCain's plan seems to leave the burden of insuring the uninsurable - those with chronic conditions - wholy upon the individual states.

Plus, I think this plan also glosses over the sheer number of people who would need some form of GAP insurance. I've read estimates that fully 50% of Americans are living with some sort of chronic condition. This seems like an awfully high burden for the individual states. Some states, like Mississippi can't even afford to properly educate its
citizens, let alone subsidize insurance for all of its citizens with
chronic conditions.

In short, I think McCain's plan glosses over the problems that far too many Americans face in obtaining and keeping reliable, affordable health care.

Lawyer Mama

http://lawyermama.com

http://momocrats.typepad.com

http://dcmetromoms.com

A proper welcome from a fellow Tiger

Kim Pearson — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:11:42 -0500

Hi Carly,

When Michelle Obama '85 blogged here last month, I gave her a Princeton locomotive. Only proper I should do the same for you, in the spirit of Fred Fox '39 and all that. Welcome to BlogHer!

I'll save the serious questions (Uwe Reinhart's buzzing in my head about HSAs, got to dig some notes out...)

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

The nitty-gritty of John McCain’s health care plan

Carly Fiorina — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:17:36 -0500

Last week, Liz Mair of the RNC guest-posted here at BlogHer, and asked what issues would be on readers’ minds as you head to the polls in November.

Many of you responded that health care was a major concern. So, as one of John McCain’s economic advisers and someone who speaks frequently about his plans for reforming and improving health care across the United States, I thought I might take the opportunity to fill the BlogHer community in on the main features of the McCain health care plan and what John McCain believes we can accomplish by implementing it. In the simplest terms, John McCain’s goal is to make health insurance easier and more affordable to acquire and make it innovative and portable — objectives which, when met, will drive down the number of uninsured Americans while ensuring increased access to better quality health care, overall.

John McCain’s plan builds on the current system and allows for greater choices for American families that more uniquely fit their needs, including allowing families to keep their existing coverage. He believes that Americans should be able to purchase health insurance in a national market, across state lines, should they so desire. That will, in turn, drive insurance rates down and simultaneously allow Americans access to a greater diversity of insurance plans — meaning that purchasers of insurance will be able to acquire coverage better tailored to their needs, at a lower cost. Because John McCain plans to offer a tax credit of $5,000 per family, or $2,500 per individual, to purchase insurance, Americans will have viable options for acquiring personal, as opposed to just employer-provided, insurance. That, in turn, will increase portability — a key concern for women, many of whom are self-employed and who tend to change jobs with greater frequency than men — and who want to make sure our health insurance follows us wherever we may go.

But those are not the only components of what John McCain is proposing with regard to health care. In addition, he plans to expand the benefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and bring down actual health care costs (as opposed to insurance costs). In part, this would be accomplished by bringing greater competition to our pharmaceutical markets via safe reimportation of drugs and faster introduction of generic drugs into the market. It also would be accomplished by focusing federal research efforts on curing chronic disease, promoting new treatment models, rewarding quality and encouraging preventive health care. Incredibly, treating chronic disease accounts for three-quarters of America’s annual health care bill. So, getting chronic disease under control will help bring costs under control, while improving Americans’ health, overall.

Increasing transparency with regard to health care costs also is critical. Too frequently, patients find themselves in the dark when it comes to medical costs and outcomes, which does nothing to promote keeping costs down and quality high. John McCain wants prices and doctors’ and hospitals’ ratings up on the Internet for everyone to see — and he firmly believes that will serve to promote quality treatment while helping to drive costs down.

No American should be denied access to quality coverage simply because of a pre-existing condition. This is an important priority for John McCain. He would work with the states to make sure that those without prior group coverage and those with pre-existing conditions would have access to health coverage, via a Guaranteed Access Plan (GAP). The model for that would be formulated on the basis of the best experience of individual states. However, one approach might be to establish a nonprofit corporation that would contract with insurers to provide coverage to patients previously denied insurance, and which could partner with other state plans to broaden insurance pools and reduce overhead costs. The bottom line is that under a GAP established pursuant to John McCain’s health care plan, premiums would be limited at a reasonable level and assistance would be available for Americans below a given income level.

For the 47 million Americans currently without health insurance, John McCain’s plan will do a great deal to decrease the cost of care and increase the accessibility of coverage and it will bring this startlingly high number down. Most importantly, however, it will do this without putting government bureaucrats and regulations in between women and their doctors, and without restricting personal choice, as Barack Obama’s plan surely would do.

For that simple reason, I’m a strong supporter of the approach to health care that John McCain advocates — and I hope that my explanation of exactly how he aims to reform our health care system has offered the BlogHer community some insight into how American health care would improve under a McCain presidency. Of course, both John and I would love to hear your feedback.

Carly Fiorina is the Victory '08 Chairman for the Republican National Committee, the Chairman and CEO of Fiorina Enterprises and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Hewlett-Packard Company. She and her husband Frank have two daughters and two granddaughters. They split their time between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.