I realize that conservatives think markets are the answer to everything, but even accounting for that, McCain's new health care proposal is really, really dumb. The typical cost of health care coverage for a family in the US today is around $12,000. McCain's plan would cover $5000 of that with a tax credit, and then leave you to cover the rest. And the best part? By smashing the link between health care coverage and employment, he would remove the subsidy that many Americans receive when their employer covers half the cost of their premiums. In other words, for most people their out of pocket cost would go up. Brilliant, no?
Jonathan Cohn, a health care policy wonk's wonk, responds:
In just the last few weeks, this issue has started to become a political liability for McCain, thanks mostly to Elizabeth Edwards, who--in addition to being a well-known cancer patient--is also a well-known policy wonk. Edwards has given a series of speeches in which she has pointed out that neither she nor McCain himself, who is a three-time melanoma survivor, could buy individual insurance under his plan, since insurers would disqualify both of them for pre-existing conditions.McCain bristled at this suggestion, vowing recently to ABC's George Stephanopoulos that "we're not leaving anybody behind." His advisers echoed that sentiment, saying Edwards didn't fully understand the proposal--and that, in short order, they'd have more to say on the subject.
Apparently that's what McCain was doing earlier today. In a speech at a Florida cancer hospital, McCain acknowledged that people with pre-existing conditions can't always buy insurance on their own. But, he says, that doesn't mean these people will be left to twist in the wind.
Instead, McCain is offering people like Edwards what he calls a "Guaranteed Access Plan." But unlike all those awful big-government entitlements the Democrats are promising--you know, the ones that (supposedly) make you wait in long lines and cut off access to high-technology treatments--McCain says his plan will let the states handle the problem by working hand-in-hand with private insurers to offer insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.
It will be the best of both worlds, McCain promises: Affordable, available insurance, but through private carriers and without the heavy hand of Washington.
It all sounds very lovely--unless you know something about health care policy, in which case it sounds absolutely preposterous.
Read on for all of the details.
The rest of the world has already largely solved this problem, but for some reason we continue to insist that we can't look to them for our solutions. At bottom, its quite simple: for a whole host of reasons too long to list, the magical power of markets cannot solve our problems. Why? Because in most cases, it is the magical power of markets that are actually creating our problems. Virtually everyone who has studied this issue already understands this. Except, apparently, the people advising Republicans.
Expect Elizabeth Edwards to stay front and center on this between now and November. In fact, if I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that it will be she, even more than Obama and Clinton, who will define the terms of debate this fall. And if that doesn't terrify McCain and his people, it should.
UPDATE: Much more from Hilzoy here.
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