According to the Commonwealth Fund, a health care research foundation, it’s Democratic Senator Barack Obama who wins the “Who Covers More? “ contest.
The report found that Obama’s plan would reduce the number of uninsured Americans by a whopping 34 million in 10 years, reported Reuters.
That’s quite a projection, but it demolished the report’s estimate of Republican Senator John McCain’s proposal. McCain’s plan, according the Commonwealth Fund report, covers only a measly 2 million.
“[Obama has a] plan that tries to deal in a serious way with the uninsured, “ said president of the Commonwealth Fund, Karen Davis. “He doesn’t eliminate it, but in my view he cuts it in half over a 10-year period. “
What the Reuters article doesn’t say is that Obama’s plan will likely be very expensive. Senator Obama says he will be able to pay for all his proposals, including his health insurance plan, but whether that is actually the case remains to be seen.
On the other end of the aisle, an opinion piece by Merrill Matthews in the Wall Street Journal touts Republican nominee John McCain for one of his health insurance proposals — buying health plans across state lines.
Matthews points out that many Americans already have coverage across state lines, citing that his daughter goes to college out of state, but still is covered at home.
He also argues that many employer-sponsored plans also already offer coverage to policyholders in other states.
An example? Members of the U.S. Senate, including Obama and McCain, who don’t live in Washington D.C. but get health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Offering health insurance plans across state lines will give consumers more health insurance options, says Matthews.
The piece was written by health care policy guru Merrill Matthews, who is executive director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance.
What Matthews doesn’t mention is that it might be irresistible for health insurance companies to move to a less-regulated state where they are not required to cover mandated benefits and have fewer restrictions in turning people down for coverage. Not such a good proposition for people with health conditions.
Still don’t know which candidate has health care and insurance reform down pat? Neither do we…