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Politics Changing the Face of Health Care

Americans who tuned in to the recently televised presidential debates were treated to an earful of hotly contested health care policies.

But not all Americans are clear about how the health plans affect them on a personal level.

A study published Oct. 1 by the Harvard School of Public Health and market research firm Harris Interactive found that four out of 10 registered voters didn’t believe one candidate’s plan would be better for them than the other’s.

Bryan Liang, a professor who teaches health care law at California Western School of Law in San Diego, said those statistics likely reflect confusion on the part of voters.

“When it comes down to it, with regard to mandates, how it’s going to be treated with respect to taxes and how it’s going to be paid for the typical American doesn’t understand it,” he said.

Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama crafted their plans to improve health care systems at a time when finding the money to fund them will prove tough, Liang said.

“I think the candidates themselves have gone very much beyond their commitment to the details they released last year,” he said.

Christine Chang, health care technology analyst with global data and analysis firm Datamonitor, says she’s “happy to see there’s definitely more recognition by the political community” when it comes to improving American health care. She lauded Obama’s plan to provide $50 billion in health care technology improvements over five years and praised McCain for mentioning telemedicine, one of the innovative ways doctors are communicating with their patients off-site, during one of the debates.

Here’s a quick look at the plans:

John McCain:

– Would tax employer-paid health insurance as income, eliminating tax exclusions now in place;

– Offset tax burdens by providing tax credits of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families who buy private health insurance;

– Deregulate insurance markets,

allowing carriers to sell across state lines; and

– Pass medical malpractice reform measures.

Barack Obama:

– Would require employers (although some small businesses would be exempt or subsidized) to either offer employees health insurance or pay a tax that would go toward funding a Medicare-like plan for the uninsured;

– Provide subsidies to low-income Americans to help them afford insurance;

– Create a new national health plan for the uninsured and small business; and

– Require that all children have health insurance.

For more details on the candidates’ individual plans visit the Web sites:



johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/



barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

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