McCain Healthcare Plan To Extend Promise Of Ineffective Half-Measures, According To Latest Ad

Twice in John McCain's new advertisement touting his so-called health care "plan," McCain mentions that the key issue is not "the quality of healthcare, but the affordability and availability of healthcare." I guess that's what "straight talk" is, because the way he describes his plan makes it clear that he believes what America needs is for underfunded, half-assed healthcare plans to be widely extended.

Has a doctor ever prescribed you a "$5000 tax credit" to cure what ails you? Mine haven't! Even when I was in a soul-sucking, devious HMO! He also suggests that it will allow Americans to "go across state lines" to find health care, because when you're at the cusp of end-stage renal failure, you're definitely thinking "Road trip!"

Anyway, McCain is making these broad promises before he's even identified who, precisely, will be the beneficiaries of his plan. And this is by his campaign's own admission:

While McCain has begun to outline his plan for Americans with pre-existing conditions, he has not made a final decision as to who would qualify for help.

"The senator is still working through the details of the exact cut-offs and eligibility requirements," said Holtz-Eakin. "The senator is going to make his final decision on eligibility criteria coming up in the next couple months."

These half-baked, not-thought-through ideas pretty much represent the extent of McCain's plan. He also says, "We need community health centers, we need walk-in clinics." And we do! But we don't need more Americans stuck with the local free clinic as their sole option for health and wellness. Could you imagine if John McCain and his family had to go to a walk-in clinic for their health care? Most aren't equipped to perform the cranial-gluteal extraction the Senator desperately needs!