Dear John, Your Health Care Plan Would Raise Costs and Lower Quality
May 14th, 2008
This morning, Roselilly Story, a registered nurse from Gulfport, Florida and member of SEIU Healthcare Florida, sent the following “Dear John” letter to Arizona Senator John McCain on behalf of its 1.9 million members and working families across America.
With the economy in freefall and families facing increasing costs on everything from fuel to food, McCain’s health care plan would increase taxes on working families by taxing their health care benefits. McCain’s plan relies on insurance competition to lower costs, but it is more likely to lead insurers to avoid risk rather than lowering costs.
Shifting millions of households into the individual market would raise administrative costs. In addition, the savings from prevention, chronic disease management, and reduced cost shifting cannot be achieved in a gap-ridden coverage system. In that type of a market, his $5,000 tax credit will not provide much help.
The letter follows:
“Dear John,
“You came to Florida recently to discuss a health care plan you admit still needs more details. The problem isn’t so much in the details — it’s that your plan will help insurance companies while forcing millions of Americans to pay more money for worse coverage.
“Most Americans get health care through their employer, but by making that coverage taxable, your plan will shift the high cost of health care onto workers. You should instead give employers the choice to either provide insurance or contribute toward the cost of a public plan. That will give them affordable options while covering more working families.
“Second, your proposed $5,000 tax credit per family will not buy much coverage in the individual insurance market. Stop pretending that the amount will come anywhere near the coverage those with employer health care receive currently.
“Finally, I hope you’ll no longer use children for photo opportunities like the one in Miami who wouldn’t even be covered by your plan because he has a cleft palate (called a pre-existing condition by insurance companies). As you campaign across the country, try giving us some straight talk and admit your plan does nothing to require insurers to cover pre-existing conditions for people like your fellow cancer survivors and will leave millions without access to health care.”
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