What Do We Want Health Insurance To Be?

[Guest guest]

OR DCs,

A few words from Drew Altman, CEO of Kaiser Family Foundation...

C Simpson

For as long as I have been in the health care field, there has been debate between experts about how much health insurance people should have. Some -- typically conservatives -- argue that we are over-insured, and that if people saw more of the costs of health care themselves they would consume it more prudently, use less health care overall, and we would spend less on health care as a nation. They also believe that making more bare bones options available in the market will enable more people to afford coverage. The liberal view is generally that if people paid more of the cost of health care they would be even more exposed than they are today to financial hardship, access would suffer, and low-income people and the chronically ill in particular would be hit the hardest. They also believe that offering less comprehensive insurance options will split the risk pool further, driving up costs for those who remain in more traditional comprehensive plans. They advocate providing more comprehensive health insurance along with generous subsidies so that it is affordable for low-income individuals and families. These differences on what the nature of health insurance should be are reflected in the candidates' positions. Senator Obama favors comprehensive coverage similar to the coverage Federal employees and members of Congress get. Senator McCain is proposing fixed dollar tax credits, in part, he has said, as a way to encourage people to buy high-deductible plans with savings accounts. full deal at http://www.kff.org/pullingittogether/093008_altman.cfm