Obama: McCain health plan 'radical'

With families increasingly worried about their economic security, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is opening a major assault on what he charges is a “radical plan” by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to decentralize health insurance.

Bill Burton, national press secretary of the Obama campaign, charged: “Millions [would] lose the health care that they have.”


Obama is unveiling his new assault at a rally in Newport News, Va., this afternoon, and the campaign is following up with TV ads, radio spots, mailers and grass-roots events in battleground states, aides said.

“What John McCain doesn’t tell you is that his plan calls for massive deregulation of the insurance industry that would leave families without the basic protections you rely on,” Obama says.

“So here’s John McCain’s radical plan in a nutshell: He taxes health care benefits for the first time in history; millions lose the health care they have; millions pay more for the health care they get; drug and insurance companies continue to profit; and middle-class families watch the system they rely on begin to unravel before their eyes.”

Burton told Obama’s traveling press corps this morning: “In the next phase on the campaign trail, on TV, in the mail and on the radio, we are going to do two things: 1) Educate voters about voters about Senator Obama’s plan to get all Americans affordable, acceptable health care; and 2) Make sure that voters know what John McCain isn’t telling you about his health care plan.

“He loves to talk about his tax credit. But what he doesn’t tell you is that he taxes health care benefits for the first time in history. Millions lose the health care that they have. And millions more will pay for the health care that they get. It’s the same approach President Bush road-tested a few years ago. But if John McCain were to succeed where George Bush failed, it could have disastrous results.”

McCain-Palin spokesman Tucker Bounds called the Obama charges a "radical lie": "Barack Obama is lying to voters. It’s a bald faced lie because John McCain will improve the tax code so that middle class paychecks aren’t used to pay government bureaucrats but instead will pay for the access to health care Americans deserve."

The McCain campaign released a memo from Doug Holtz-Eakin, McCain-Palin Senior Policy Adviser, titled: "The FACTS About The McCain Health Care Plan": "Transforming The Tax Code To Create Greater Equity: The McCain plan transforms the current tax code to provide all American families – including the self-employed and the uninsured – the same tax benefit, a $5,000 refundable tax credit ($2,500 for individuals) that was previously only available to those with employer coverage. Families can use this credit to purchase insurance of their choice, including keeping their current coverage."

The Obama campaign also posted an 11-page memo called “ Five Pitfalls of the McCain Health Plan”: “[T]he McCain health plan represents a continuation of the policies we have seen over the last eight years, policies that have contributed to health premiums more than doubling, 7 million more Americans uninsured, and nearly 2 million more Americans without employer sponsored insurance."

Obama calls his plan an effort to “Make Health Insurance Work”: “Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums. ... Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.”

Here are the excerpts from Obama’s prepared remarks for the event in Virginia:

Senator McCain has been eager to share some details of his plan — but not all.

He tells you that he’ll give you a tax credit of $2,500 per person — $5,000 per family — to help you pay for your insurance and health care costs. But like those ads for prescription drugs, you have to read the fine print to learn the rest of the story.

You see, Senator McCain would pay for his plan, in part, by taxing your health care benefits for the first time in history. And this tax would come out of your paycheck. But the new tax credit he’s proposing? That wouldn’t go to you. It would go directly to your insurance company — not your bank account. So when you read the fine print, it’s clear that John McCain is pulling an old Washington bait and switch. It’s a shell game. He gives you a tax credit with one hand — but raises your taxes with the other.

* * * *

And here’s something else Senator McCain won’t tell you. When he taxes people’s benefits, many younger, healthier workers will decide that it’s a better deal to opt out of the insurance they get at work — and instead, go out into the individual market, where they can buy a cheaper plan. Many employers will be left with an older, sicker pool of workers who they can’t afford to cover. As a result, many employers will drop their health care plans altogether. And study after study has shown, that under the McCain plan, at least 20 million Americans will lose the insurance they rely on from their workplace.

It’s the same approach George W. Bush floated a few years ago. It was dead on arrival in Congress. But if Senator McCain were to succeed where George Bush failed, it very well could be the beginning of the end of our employer-based health care system. In fact, some experts have said that that’s exactly the point of John McCain’s plan — to drive you out of the insurance you have through your employer — and out into the marketplace, where your family will be given that $5,000 tax credit and told to buy insurance on your own.

A $5,000 tax credit. That sounds pretty good. But what Senator McCain doesn’t tell you is that the average cost of a family health care plan these days is more than twice that much — $12,680. So where would that leave you?

* * * *

Finally, what John McCain doesn’t tell you is that his plan calls for massive deregulation of the insurance industry that would leave families without the basic protections you rely on. You may have heard about how, in the current issue of a magazine, Senator McCain wrote that we need to open up health care to – and I quote – “more vigorous nationwide competition as we have done over the last decade in banking.” That’s right, he wants to deregulate the insurance industry just like he fought to deregulate the banking industry. And we’ve all seen how well that worked out.

* * * *

So here’s John McCain’s radical plan in a nutshell: he taxes health care benefits for the first time in history; millions lose the health care they have; millions pay more for the health care they get; drug and insurance companies continue to profit; and middle class families watch the system they rely on begin to unravel before their eyes. Well, I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think we should settle for health care that works better for drug and insurance companies than it does for hard working Americans. I don’t think that’s the change we need. We can do better than that.

* * * *

…I reject the tired old debate that says we have to choose between two extremes: government-run health care with higher taxes…or insurance companies without rules denying people coverage. That’s a false choice. It’s the same distracting rhetoric that’s kept us gridlocked for decades. And we know that neither of these approaches is the answer to this problem.

The real solution is to take on drug and insurance companies; modernize our health care system for the twenty-first century; reduce costs for families and businesses; and finally provide affordable, accessible health care for every American.