Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee McCain Discusses Cancer Issues at Ohio Event

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Thursday discussed issues related to cancer at a town hall meeting in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by cyclist and testicular cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, the Los Angeles Times reports.

During the event, McCain, a melanoma survivor, said, "I was in a battle with melanoma. And I know ... somewhat, at least to a small degree, how tough that battle can be. And yes, I've become a fanatic. Yes, I admit it. When I see a woman with a child in the sun, I go over and say, 'Get sunscreen on that child, please.'" McCain, a former smoker, also criticized tobacco industry lobbyists.

According to the Times, "McCain's appearance at the summit was widely panned by liberal groups that have criticized his health insurance plan, which some independent analysts say could make it more difficult for people with health problems to find coverage." McCain has proposed to replace a tax break for employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable tax credit of as much as $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to purchase private coverage, and critics maintain that the plan "might impose hardships on cancer survivors, for example, because insurance companies might balk at covering people with pre-existing conditions," the Times reports.

Armstrong, who did not endorse a presidential candidate, said, "We know that Sen. McCain's opponent, Sen. [Barack] Obama [Ill.], could not be here because he's overseas, but he does not get a pass. We fully expect Sen. Obama to talk about the very same issues, and we expect him to lay out his plan and his agenda" (Reston, Los Angeles Times, 7/25).

A webcast of the event will be available online at health08.org next week.

CNN's "The Situation Room" on Thursday included coverage of the McCain speech (Gupta, "The Situation Room," CNN, 7/24). A transcript of the show is available online.

Opinion Piece
Experts have "warned that the rising cost of federal entitlement programs, particularly Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security," pose a "grave threat to America's economic future," but "discussion of entitlement reform has been conspicuously absent in the presidential campaign so far," Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, writes in a Washington Times opinion piece.

In the Senate, "McCain earned a reputation as a fiscal conservative and champion of entitlement reform," but, "on the campaign trail this year, 'straight talk' has been very hard to come by," Tanner writes. "Obama, on the other hand, has been much more straightforward about what he would do" to reform entitlement programs, although his proposal would cause "a great deal of pain for very little gain," according to Tanner.

He adds, "On Medicare, both candidates have been even less courageous" than on their proposals to reform Social Security. "Faced with a recent split between a Republican proposal to trim reimbursements to doctors and hospitals and a Democratic plan to cut payments to private insurers participating in the Medicare Advantage program, Mr. McCain managed to oppose both sets of cuts," Tanner writes.

"Meanwhile, Mr. Obama actually wants to increase Medicare spending, particularly on the program's prescription drug benefit," and "he would also increase spending for Medicaid," according to Tanner. He concludes, "There is no doubt that we are currently going through some tough economic times," but the "current slow-down is nothing compared to the economic crisis we will face if the government fails to get its financial house in order" (Tanner, Washington Times, 7/25).

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times on Friday published several letters to the editor related to a July 23 article about the Obama health care proposal. Summaries appear below.

• Rachel Nardin: "Obama proposes to make health care affordable for all Americans with an injection of cash from the repeal of the Bush tax cuts and with savings realized from electronic health information technology and programs to improve disease prevention and chronic disease management," Nardin, an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and chair of the Massachusetts chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, writes in a Times letter to the editor. She adds, "While better record-keeping and prevention and management programs would improve the quality of our medical system, there is little data that they would actually save money." Nardin writes, "Most waste in our health care system is a result of our reliance on private health insurers," adding, "Having multiple, competing insurers results in costs for marketing, underwriting, billing, claims adjudication, executive salaries and profit." She concludes, "If Mr. Obama wants to save enough to provide health care for every American, he needs to open the debate to include consideration of Medicare for all in the United States" (Nardin, New York Times, 7/25).
  
  
• Richard Ralston: The article offered an "excellent summary of the most controversial features of Barack Obama's health plan," but the "proposed revenue sources are as ephemeral as the projected savings," Ralston, executive director of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine, writes in a Times letter to the editor. He adds, "The plan assumes that reversal of previous tax cuts on those making more than $250,000 would finance the plan," but "haven't all of those funds already been earmarked to pay for new tax cuts for the middle class ... and more generous Medicare prescription drug benefits?" In addition, "increased revenues from reversing those tax cuts" also are "cited as the key element in eliminating the budget deficit," Ralston writes (Ralston, New York Times, 7/25).
  
  
• Robert Nelb: "An important element that should be added to the debate over ... Obama's health plan is the cost-saving potential of providing coverage to the uninsured," Nelb, a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institution, writes in a Times letter to the editor. "Since insurance works by spreading risk, the more people who sign up for a health plan, the lower the premiums will be for families who already have insurance," Nelb writes. He adds, "This simple law of health care economics featured prominently in the debate over health insurance mandates during the presidential primaries," and "Mr. Obama should acknowledge the limitations of an approach that does not include a mandate and work to achieve true cost savings by ensuring that his plan is truly universal" (Nelb, New York Times, 7/25).