McCain Health Plan = Huge Tax Increase
Promoted from the forums - Nick D.
McCain said almost nothing substantive in his acceptance speech, but nearly everything he said about policy was false or grossly misleading.
On taxes, McCain said: “I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.” Not true. Obama’s plan would cut taxes for 95% of the population, and the top two tax brackets (the other 5%) would see their rates return to 1990 levels.
By contrast, what has not received much coverage is that McCain’s health plan would function as a huge tax increase on the middle class. His plan makes all employer contributions to health plans taxable (i.e., if your employer some or all of your health insurance premium, you’ll have to pay income taxes on your employer’s contributions). By making health insurance benefits taxable (and providing an inadequate tax credit to make up for it), McCain’s plan would increase taxes on an Ohio family making $60,000 by $1500 a year.
Additionally on health care, McCain said: “My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. [Obama’s] plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat... where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.”Pretty much every word of that is incorrect. McCain’s plan calls for weakening regulations on health insurance and allowing people to buy insurance across state lines. The result will be a race to the lowest common denominator, with insurance companies able to deny coverage for virtually anyone with a preexisting condition of any sort. The Center for American progress projects that this could put 56 million people at risk of losing their health coverage.
Contrary to McCain’s claim, Obama’s plan does not force anyone into a “government-run health care system.” Instead, it would create a government-sponsored health care plan – similar to what federal employees have – which would be one option for people seeking health insurance. Anyone satisfied with their current plan could keep it. It’s actually McCain’s plan that would put bureaucrats – HMO bureaucrats – between patients and their doctors, by allowing HMOs more leeway to deny coverage for needed services. There’s a quick and telling comparison of the two plans here.
Finally, McCain’s statement that he’s “fought tobacco companies” may be true as a matter of history, but his recent record has been quite the opposite. More on that later…
