NOBAMA IN 2008: The Truth About the McCain Health Care Plan

To the McCain Community:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden have consistently lied to Americans about John McCain's plan. Their claims have failed every fact check from CBS to the Washington Post. John McCain is not going to raise taxes on middle class families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the only ones in this race that plan to raise taxes. Their recent attacks have become increasingly misleading. Read the fact sheet below or click here to learn the truth about the McCain-Palin Health Care Plan.

Sincerely,

Doug Holtz-Eakin
Senior Policy Advisor
McCain-Palin 2008

The Truth about the McCain-Palin Health Care Plan

Barack Obama And Joe Biden Have Consistently Lied To Americans About John McCain's Plan. Their claims have failed every fact-check - from CBS to the Washington Post. John McCain is not going to raise taxes on middle class families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the only ones in this race that plan to raise taxes.

OBAMA FICTION
John McCain Will Tax Health Care Benefits For The First Time And Will Be the Largest Middle Class Tax Increase In History.

THE FACTS
This Obama charge is a blatant mischaracterization of the McCain Health Plan. It only focuses on the fact that the value of the employer provided insurance will now show up as additional income for the employees - what he fails to mention - is that John McCain's generous refundable tax credit ($5,000 for families and $2,500 for individuals) will not only shield millions of families from a tax increase but will actually give them MORE dollars to invest in their health care needs.

The McCain Plan DOES NOT tax:

Premiums paid by families and individuals
Employers for providing health care coverage
Medical expenses like the cost of a procedure or medication
Insurance claims

Approach Supported By Obama's Own Advisor: This is an approach supported by Barack Obama's own Senior Economic Advisor Jason Furman who wrote that "we could scrap the current deduction altogether and replace it with progressive tax credits that, together with other changes, would ensure that every American has affordable health insurance."

Better Than "Members of Congress": Under the McCain Plan, your employer can provide you with health insurance as good as a "Member of Congress" (approximately $12,000), and you would pay no more in taxes - regardless of your tax bracket. In fact, you would have additional money left over from the McCain tax credit to put in a health savings account.

Where Is The Middle-Class "Tax Increase"? If you or your family is in the 28% bracket, with an income of $180,000, you could receive employer provided health insurance even better than a Member of Congress, with a cost of almost $18,000, with no increase in taxes. Even the liberal leaning Tax Policy Center, agrees that the McCain proposals will result in a "net tax benefit" of more than $1,200 for an average tax payer. A recent Lewin Group study estimated savings of more than $1,400 per American family - almost three times the savings as under the Obama plan.

OBAMA FICTION
The McCain Plan Will Reduce Medicare Spending By Billions By "Cutting Benefits, Eligibility or Both."

THE FACTS
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).

The Obama Spin: If some of the proposals above sound familiar to Senator Obama's proposals including - better managing chronic care diseases, greater use of health IT, promoting prevention and greater use of generic drugs - because they are. Only the liberal media and the Obama campaign would characterize similar proposals as "savings" in the their plan and "cutting benefits, eligibility or both" in the McCain plan.

OBAMA FICTION
John McCain Will Tax Health Care Benefits For The First Time And Send The Money Straight To The Insurance Companies.

THE FACTS
Another desperate attack by the Obama campaign. Here is what they purposefully fail to mention - the credit goes to the insurance company that the American family chooses to get coverage from, anywhere in the nation. The power of choice lies with the family - not government bureaucrats or insurance companies.

Putting Families In Charge: Under the McCain Plan American families will not only decide where the tax credit should be directed for their coverage needs but any additional money left over after purchasing coverage will be controlled by the family in a portable health savings account. Ridiculing this line of strange attack, The Associated Press stated, "Of course it would, because it's meant to pay for insurance. That's like saying money for a car loan will go straight to the car dealer."

Obama Criticizing His Own Approach: Most importantly, Senator Obama is criticizing an approach that is used by his own HOPE credits - where tax payer money simply goes from the federal government to colleges.

OBAMA FICTION
Americans With Pre-Existing Condition Under The McCain Plan Will Not Find Coverage.

THE FACTS
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 - a Guaranteed Access Plan or GAP - 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.

OBAMA FICTION
The McCain Health Plan Will Damage Employer Provided Insurance For Millions of Americans.

THE FACTS
The 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?

So Why Is Barack Obama Hiding Details About His Plan?

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 - 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...since 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 "...like HillaryCare in the 1990s, is to displace current private coverage and switch people to the default government option."