Shopping For Health Insurance Under McCain’s Plan
AP reporter Kevin Freking weighed on on McCain’s health care proposal and how the encouraged interstate shopping for health insurance might effect the market. Mr. Freking’s take is that the interstate shopping would clearly benefit younger healthier Americans that are healthy enough to purchase health insurance from a health insurance company in a state that has few consumer protections and thus can offer individual health insurance at a much lower cost. However, as healthy individuals from heavily regulated states (such as New York) begin buying health plans across state lines from states that do not require mandated benefits they don’t need, the health coverage from the heavily regulated states will continue to spiral upward in cost, as the only customers who will continue to purchase from those states are the ones who have no choice due to their health conditions, and who are very expensive to insure.
McCain has acknowledged the need to help the chronically ill folks who could be left behind without government assistance and has proposed a guaranteed acceptance health plan run by the state and governed by a board representing health insurance companies, businesses and consumers. Health insurance rates would be capped at 150% of the standard plan sold in the state. This plan would essentially build on programs running in 34 states already as of the end of 2007.
As a comparison of the competing health care plans, McCain’s plan focuses on changing the tax code to expand health coverage, particularly the individual health insurance marketplace, while Barack Obama’s plan aims to subsidize the cost of health insurance for low-income families so that they could afford to purchase coverage.
Both health care plans have their warts, and both plans have their critics.
