In Virginia: Obama Criticizes McCain's Medicare Cut
By: Doctor A
Published On: 10/19/2008 1:48:40 PM
Nearly 47 million Americans, most of who are in working families, do not have health insurance. For those with health coverage, our health costs are skyrocketing. We are at a critical time. We need a health plan that ensures coverage for all of us and is economically viable.
What we don't need is a slashing of funding of those services that will provide affordable health care for some of the most needy.
During Obama's 7th visit to Virginia, he criticized McCain for his proposals that would result in $882 billion in cuts to Medicare.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com...
Cutting Medicare means less help for the elderly and for children. McCain is heading in the opposite direction that this country needs right now.
Comments
Dr A is right (stevie12345 - 10/19/2008 2:57:34 PM)
McCain's health care plan, and his proposal to cut Medicare to fund it, demonstrates the brankruptcy of the conservative approach. Dr. A is right--this is not the direction in which we need to go.
Senator McCain would accelerate the unraveling of our employer based system, the means of coverage for most people, and force people into the unregulated nongroup, or individual, market. This may seem attractive to some, particularly younger and healthier people, but it is an illusion. Costs are lower in the nongroup market only because policies there offer many fewer benefits than employer based coverage.
McCain's approach would fragment the risk pool and concentrate high-risk individuals in employer based coverage, where costs will skyrocket.
We need an approach like Senator Obama's, which broadens the risk pool, promotes community, and offers comprehensive benefits and affordable coverage for everyone.
It's even worse than Dr. A suggests (AllAboutHealthPolicy - 10/19/2008 8:45:51 PM)
Not only will he cut Medicare by nearly $9 billion, he will also cut Medicaid by $4 billion, will tax your employer health benefits, and loosed the regulations on private health insurers. He will give you a $5000 tax credit that doesn't go to you, it goes to the insurance companies to help you pay for $12,000 policy, leaving you holding the bag for $7,000 in premiums and another $2-3,000 more in deductibles and cost sharing - raising the cost of your health insurance to about $10,000 per year or more.
And forget it if you have a pre-existing condition. Under McCain's plan you will be completely out of luck.
McCain's health plan is a disaster for young families, for the elderly, for working people and for the poor.
Right on (soccermom3 - 10/19/2008 10:32:28 PM)
I saw this coverage as well and thought it was absurd of McCain to say that he could cut this much out of Medicare without touching eligibility or benefits. He claims he's going to do it all by combatting "fraud and abuse" and making other improvements to the system. I'm all against fraud and abuse, as is every other normal person in the country, but it's just absurd to maintain you can cut Medicare this deeply by taking on fraud and abuse. Real people's health care is very much at stake here and will be harmed if McCain is elected.