How will elderly and chronically ill be affected in Obama and McCain's health care plans?

Obama wants people to have access to health care even when they have preexisting conditions ( the way insurance companies NEVER supported his mother while she had been dying from ovarian cancer)


McCain wants to create a tax credit of $5,000 while cutting spending in Medicare and Medicaid to fund it. What he does not explain is that YOU would have to come up with the money in the first place then get the tax credit. The 5K would not even cover 50% of the coverage you would lose once the employer drops health coverage. On average, employer based health insurance runs anywhere from $8-15K / year. You would then have to find insurance at that level on your own. McCain wants to do to health care what he and his Republican colleagues did for the banking industryHow will elderly and chronically ill be affected in Obama and McCain's health care plans?
McCain would force millions to get individual plans instead of group plans at their employer. With individual plans, insurance companies routinely deny people with pre-existing conditions, so many would lose coverage or pay alot more. Obama would preserve the existing employer-based system, plus he would cover those not covered by employers now. And he would outlaw denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions. The choice couldn't be more clear.


How will elderly and chronically ill be affected in Obama and McCain's health care plans?
McCain:





John McCain believes that we can achieve savings in Medicare without reducing benefits or eligibility. He has proposed common-sense reforms that will not only put Medicare on a path of financial stability but ensure access to quality care for millions of Americans. Some of the policies proposed by the McCain plan include:





* Promote payment reform that allows us to move away from the current fragmented and volume-based service to a system which rewards coordinated and quality focused care.





* Eliminate Medicare fraud and abuse to ensure that nearly $60 billion a year, almost 10 percent of total Medicare spending, that goes to line the pocket of criminals instead of providing quality care for seniors.





* Ensure that drug premiums for the wealthiest Americans are not being subsidized by the middle class.





* Promote a new generation of treatment models that better manage chronic care conditions while rewarding prevention and wellness.





* Greater use of Health IT and medical homes to promote greater co-ordination of care.





* Reduce drug costs by allowing greater use of generics (including bio-generics).





John McCain believes that no American should be denied access to quality and affordable coverage simply because of a pre-existing condition. As President, John McCain will work with governors to develop a best practice model that states can follow 鈥?a Guaranteed Access Plan or GAP 鈥?that would reflect the best experience of the states to ensure these patients have access to health coverage. There would be reasonable limits on premiums, and assistance would be available for Americans below a certain income level.





he McCain health plan builds on the employer-based system. Employers will have the same incentive to provide health insurance as they do today since they will continue to deduct the cost of health insurance they provide to employees.





* Millions With Employer Coverage Will Do Better Under The McCain Plan: Millions of American families with employer sponsored coverage in all tax brackets with the same coverage as a ';Members of Congress'; will now come out ahead with additional funds going into a portable health savings account. Importantly, younger and healthier employees with the McCain health care tax credit will have a bigger incentive to stay with the employers. For example, a 25-year-old employee in the 25 percent tax bracket with a $2,500 tax credit could either purchase a policy in the individual market for the same amount or stay with his employer plan and receive a $5,000 policy with an additional $1,250 to invest in a portable health savings account. Why would people choose fewer benefits for more money?


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Obama:





# Barack Obama's Plan Will Harm Employer Coverage


The Obama plan includes a $179 billion a year employer mandate. The mandate requires employers to either provide ';meaningful'; coverage or pay a tax towards the government plan. Faced with tough economic conditions and rising health costs this creates a clear incentive for employers to drop coverage and move families into the new government plan. A Lewin Group study which examined a similar employer mandate combined with a national plan, like the Obama plan, concluded that almost 52 million individuals would lose their private employer coverage. To maintain their competitive edge, others employers will follow - spelling the demise of the employer coverage system.





# Barack Obama's Plan Continues The Push Toward Government-Run Healthcare


The Obama plan will create a brand new government-run health plan at the cost of $243 billion a year 鈥?a financial burden of more than $3,000 a year on American families.





# Barack Obama's Plan Will Damage Private Coverage


The government-run plan will have a clear advantage over private insurance since it will be subsidized by American taxpayers. A recent analysis of both plans by the nonpartisan CATO Institute concluded that the Obama government-run plan will be able to ';keep its premiums artificially low鈥ince it can turn to the U.S. Treasury to cover any shortfalls'; resulting in ';undercutting the private market.'; According to Wall Street Journal, the goal of the Obama plan ';鈥ike HillaryCare in the 1990s, is to displace current private coverage and switch people to the default government option.';
Well I know that one thing in Obama's plan that is not in McCain's, is that insurance companies, will have to accept anyone willing to pay, regardless of age, health, or pre-existing conditions. I think this would apply to your question in a sense.
if both are on social security the only effect on health will be when Obama raises taxes to include ss then they will be back to eating cat food as human food is not in their fixed income budget. clinton did that when he was elected. but fortunately Bush repealed it.
This side-by-side comparison of the candidates' positions on disability-related issues is based on information found on the candidates' Web sites, the candidates' Senatorial Web sites and supplemented by other sources.


http://olrs.ohio.gov/prescompare.htm