Obama v. McCain on health care. Part 1: Introduction
Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are behind us, I'm planning to write a series of posts to provide my perspective on the candidates' health care proposals. I'll follow the framework laid out by the Kaiser Family Foundation's health08.org in its side-by-side summary of the candidates' positions. The posts will appear every few days and I'll conclude a week or so before election day with an overall summary and an endorsement of one candidate's plan.Here's the framework:
- Overall approach to expanding access to coverage
- A. Requirement to obtain or offer coverage
- B. Expansion of public programs
- C. Premium subsidies to individuals
- D. Premium subsidies to employers
- E. Tax changes related to health insurance
- F. Creation of insurance pooling mechanisms
- G. Changes to private insurance
- H. State flexibility
- Cost containment
- Improving quality/health system performance
- Other investments
- Financing
Look for the first post next week.---PS -- Here's Part 2: Requirement to obtain or offer coverage.