Papers Examine Comparisons of McCain, Obama Health Care Proposals, Positions on Science

Three reports examine the health care plans of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Wall Street Journal reports (Meckler, Wall Street Journal, 9/16). Health Affairs on Tuesday published two reports, an analysis of the McCain proposal -- compiled by Thomas Buchmueller of the University of Michigan and colleagues -- and an analysis of the Obama plan -- compiled by health care economists Joseph Antos, Gail Wilensky and Hanns Kuttner. According to AP/San Francisco Chronicle, the studies "reflect fundamental disagreements over how to improve access to health coverage" and "sound warnings about what could go wrong with each candidate's plan" (Freking, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/16).

A separate report by the Tax Policy Center said Obama's plan would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years and reduce the number of uninsured by 18 million in one year and by 34 million in 10 years. McCain's plan would cost $1.3 trillion over 10 years. Though it could reduce the number of uninsured by up to five million, the effect on coverage would likely diminish over time. According to the Journal, the center's calculation does not include either campaign's initiatives to reduce the cost of health care.

The report from the Tax Policy Center is available online.

An abstract of the Health Affairs report on the McCain proposal also is available online.

In addition, an abstract of the Health Affairs report on the Obama proposal is available online.

Science Positions
The New York Times on Monday examined the positions of McCain and Obama on several issues related to science, such genetics research and embryonic stem cell research, based on their answers to questions from Science Debate 2008. According to the Times, both candidates acknowledge the potential benefits and social concerns related to genetics research. Both candidates also support expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (Broad, New York Times, 9/15).

Editorial, Opinion Pieces
Several newspapers recently published several opinion pieces about health care issues in the presidential election. Summaries appear below.

• Mona Charen, Washington Times: "Obama could rewrite our health care system," but, "if his reforms are enacted, they will drive private insurance out of the market entirely" and leave "Medicare for everyone" or a single-payer system, syndicated columnist Charen writes in a Times opinion piece. She writes, "Around the world, single-payer systems keep costs down by rationing care." According to Charen, "McCain's health care reforms put the focus where it belongs -- on increasing market competition and consumer choice." She adds, "Government saddled us with this cumbersome employer-based system in the first place (by making contributions to health plans tax-deductible for employers during World War II)," and the "system does little to encourage economy (due to the third-party payer problem), discourages competition, leaves millions without coverage because plans are too expensive, discourages job switching, and suffers from needless complexity." Both McCain and Obama would change the health care system, but Obama would "change our health care system for the worse, and permanently," Charen writes (Charen, Washington Times, 9/16).
  
  
• David Cutler/Bradford DeLong/Ann Marie Marciarille, Wall Street Journal: "The big threat to growth in the next decade is not oil or food prices but the rising cost of health care," Cutler, a professor of economics at Harvard University and an adviser to Obama; DeLong, a professor of economics at University of California-Berkeley; and Marciarille, an adjunct law professor at McGeorge School of Law, write in a Journal opinion piece. They write, "Rising health costs push total employment costs up and wages and benefits down," adding, "Sustained growth thus requires successful health care reform," and Obama has a "far superior" proposal than McCain has. According to the authors, "Obama's proposal will modernize our current system of employer- and government-provided health care, keeping what works well and making the investments now that will lead to a more efficient medical system." They write, "Given the current inefficiencies in our system, the impact of the Obama plan will be profound." Meanwhile, "McCain, who constantly repeats his no-new-taxes promise on the campaign trail, proposes a big tax hike as the solution to our health care crisis," the authors write, adding, "With the economy in recession, that's the last thing America's businesses need." They conclude, "Everyone agrees our health care financing system must change," but "only one candidate, Barack Obama, has real change we can believe in" (Cutler/DeLong/Marciarille, Wall Street Journal, 9/16).
  
  
• Bob Herbert, New York Times: "Has anyone bothered to notice the radical changes that John McCain" is "planning for the nation's health insurance system" -- changes that would "set in motion nothing less than the dismantling of the employer-based coverage that protects most American families?" Times columnist Herbert writes in an opinion piece. He adds, "There is nothing secret about Senator McCain's far-reaching proposals, but they haven't gotten much attention because the chatter in this campaign has mostly been about nonsense." Herbert writes, "You would think that with some of the most venerable houses on Wall Street crumbling like sand castles right before our eyes, we'd be a little wary about spreading this toxic formula even further into the health care system," but "we're not even paying much attention" (Herbert, New York Times, 9/16).
  
  
• Kathleen O'Connor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Health care "seems to have slipped off center stage in the presidential campaign," but "it has not slipped off the public's agenda," O'Connor, founder and CEO of CodeBlueNow!, writes in a Post-Intelligencer opinion piece. According to O'Connor, "neither candidate has a proposal the public would support because they have played to their parties, not the people." She writes that a majority of residents do not support a "single-payer, tax-based health care or complete individual responsibility such as health savings accounts" and "think health care should be a shared responsibility of employer, employee and government." O'Connor concludes, "Voters must hold the candidates and Congress accountable by supporting such reform. Remember, anyone can give elected officials money, but only you and I can give them their jobs" (O'Connor, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9/15).

Broadcast Coverage
CBS' "Evening News" on Monday reported on the McCain and Obama health care proposals. The segment includes comments from Obama, McCain and Len Berman, director of the Tax Policy Center (Andrews, "Evening News," CBS, 9/15).