For complete article click here. Of note, Senator Obama indicates that funding will come from tax increases on individuals and small business making > $250,000/year and by cutting Medicare Advantage (again?).
Here is just the part about the Health Plan:
Obama’s plan
Obama’s plan moves closer to universal coverage in that his mixture of private/public options would be accessible to everyone. Participants could remain on their employer’s plan or choose a new national health plan that would provide “the same coverage that is offered to members of Congress and their families,” Obama said in NEJM (Editor’s NOTE: New England Journal of Medicine).
Editor’s Note: Here is a link to the benefits which Federal Employees (including members of Congress) get: http://www.opm.gov/insure/08/planinfo.asp
Small businesses, the self-employed or others without employer-based options or who do not qualify for Medicaid would have an option of the national plan or a private plan approved by a National Health Insurance Exchange, with federal subsidies helping pay premiums. Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance (SCHIP) eligibility would be expanded.
Critics say the additional subsidies, along with expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP, plus heavy regulation on the insurance industry, will drive up the cost of insurance and increase taxes. The vagueness of how much taxes will go up is troubling to some.
“It is the spending gap, the 2 1/2 percentage-point growth faster than the rest of the economy that we have in health care, have had for the last 45 years, combined with the aging baby boomers, that we can’t sustain,” said Gail Wilensky, a a senior fellow at the nonprofit Project HOPE, which provides health services around the world. Her comments were made at the roundtable.
Obama’s funding would come from ending tax cuts for people with incomes over $250,000 and from eliminating the higher subsidies paid to Medicare Advantage plans. He would also negotiate Medicare drug costs. Both candidates also count on savings by reducing chronic diseases through education toward healthier lifestyles and a greater focus on prevention.
But Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County commissioner of health, says assumptions can lead to flawed decisions.
“People know the right things to do – exercise, eat right, don’t smoke.” Although she champions wellness and prevention programs, she said, “People don’t want to pay for health care when they’re sick, let alone when they’re well. People don’t value health. What they value is the absence of disease.”
