What McCain's Not Saying about Health Care

My mom's right.* $6000 for health insurance sounds like a great deal. But here's the rest of McCain's health care plan he's not detailing in these speeches:

1. The average health care plan for a family costs $12,000. You get $6000 to buy coverage. Where does the other $6000 come from? You.

2. McCain wants to get rid of the tax-exemption for employer-based coverage. Not even business thinks that's a good idea. From Business Week today:

The Washington law firm Miller & Chevalier Chartered, together with the American Benefits Council, a trade association, surveyed 187 benefits officers this summer at large U.S. companies to determine their views on the direction of health-care policy in 2009. The respondents were asked their opinion of several health-care reform proposals, without identifying the reforms with any candidate or political party. When asked about "pay or play," the position favored by Obama that would require employers to either provide health care for employees (play) or pay a tax to the government, 46% of respondents said it would have a strong negative effect on their workforce. But 74% said a repeal of the employee tax exemption for employer-based health coverage—McCain's proposal—would have a strong negative effect.

3. McCain will tax your employer-based benefits as if they were salary. So let's say your company pays $7200/yr for your health insurance coverage. Under McCain's plan, that money is taxed as if it were money you were just getting. So more money comes out of your paycheck, and you see nothing in return.

4. McCain claims you can choose your own doctor. Not true. Under his plan, the insurance companies still call the shots. They get to tell you who you can or can't see. That doesn't change under McCain's plan.

5. McCain would allow you to buy health insurance across state lines. That means all the regulations in place to protect you... gone!

I cannot emphasize this enough. Please don't be fooled by the stump promise of more money up front. It will buy you nothing and do nothing to help fix our health care problems in this country. It will only make them much, much worse.

*She's right about a lot of things.