McCain's Health Care Plan Attacked In Million Dollar Independent Ad

The independent progressive group Heath Care For America Now! released a batch of eight ads targeting John McCain and seven incumbent House members Wednesday morning. Operating as a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, the group is pouring $4.3 million into all the spots. While the congressional ads will air on targeted local stations, the McCain ad, entitled "Fighter," will get a $1 million push on national cable, in addition to airings in Ohio.

While HCAN is forbidden by law from coordinating with Democratic committees, the McCain ad happens to target precisely the same issue as Obama's latest spot -- specifically by raising doubts questions about McCain's plan to tax employer-based health care.

Watch:

"With less than thirty days to go before Election Day, it is urgent that voters know where the candidates stand on health care," said Richard Kirsch, the group's national campaign manager. "For families struggling to make ends meet, the high cost of health care has been a leading economic indicator. Now is the time to convince every candidate and member of Congress to stand on the side of quality, affordable health care for all and not on the side of handing over more control to the private health insurance companies. Our goal is to get the next President and a majority of Congress committed to the principles of quality, affordable health care for all in 2009."

The seven congressional spots will target the records and positions of Senator John Sununu (R-NH), Congressman Ric Keller (FL-8), Congressman Randy Kuhl (NY-29), Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-7) and candidates Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-9), Marty Ozinga (IL-11), and Erik Paulsen (MN-3).

McCain Ad Script:

I've never faced an enemy like cancer.

But it's ok. I'm a fighter.

Story continues below

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Under John McCain's health care plan, 20 million (people) could lose their insurance at work - I could be one of them.

And with a pre-existing condition like cancer, I couldn't get coverage on my own.

He wants me to fight cancer and the insurance companies?

Fine. I'll take you both on.

VO: Ask Senator McCain which side he's on.

TITLE:

Senator McCain

Which side are you on - ours or the insurance companies'?

www.whichsidearetheyon.com

VO:

Health Care for America Now is responsible for the content of this advertising

TITLE:

Paid for by Health Care for America Now, www.healthcareforamericanow.org. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. HCAN is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Comments

[ICANSEERUSSIA]

McBush AKA Mc L i a r and his side kick and VP choice Sarah McBlunder and his gang of thugs are gonna hit us with everything they have this month! We need to flood Obama's campaign through the home stretch with as much money as we can give through October. Let's get energized people and show McBush how strong we really are! We all started very strong and now we all have to pick up even more steam and finish what we started, our families and our soldiers are counting on us to fight the good fight to the end! Let's start making this about the Economy, Health Care, Equal Pay, Education, Etc and we will win this Election! Keep donating and volunteering. Like I said my family and I have donated a $150 dollars and we do this every month, even my thirteen year old daughter and my seven year old daughter are engaged in this Election and have took money out of their piggy banks to help invest into a better future for not just them but for everyone that believes in Fairness, Justice, Equality and Hope in America. I've always told my children this when they started school, you always start strong and you always end strong. Obama/Biden/08

Pass this along to ten other people.

CLICK ON THIS LINK

https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1iZD4S0HNs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQUTgpSJ7Cw

[SwingingFromCenter]

I'm a small business owner. I have 12 employees in my company. Presently, they are all insured through UHC, which is a pretty good company as far as insurance companies go.

If McCain's health "plan" is implemented--they all lose their coverage. Every one of em.

[RStone]

Yes, and if you decided to fire them, they lose it too. And if you decide to cancel they're plan, they will lose it too.

http://www.boppoll.com

National health care is an idea that works in Europe and Canada!

Obama '08

[Steph 66]

McCain could not get insurance coverage for $2500 a year. He couldn't get coverage AT ALL, since he has had cancer. His wife could not get coverage, as she suffered from an addiction in the past. The insurance companies FIND reasons NOT to cover people.

If McCain was not so fortunate in his marriage to a wealthy woman and his government provided health insurance, he may not have survived his cancer. It certainly helped in his recovery that he did not have to worry about how he was going to pay for it on top of his struggles with treatment...

[Leslib]

When the company I worked for researched annual renewals it took weeks of planning, information gathering and report production and submission in order to get bids. Thereafter if we had any questions or changes to the plan design we would need to submit MORE information which would need to go to undewriting and we would have to wait even longer for the insurance company's premium bid. No one who is busy working and raising a family will have sufficient time to devote to this. Moreover, the only ones who will actually GET insurance are those who are healthy, leaving a huge amount of people with acute or chronic illnesses to remain uncovered. This is simply a stupid, untenable recommendation that was made without full knowledge of the way insurance works and what it would take to make a plan such as this successful. If this is the best McCain can do, then he doesn't deserve the Presidency.

[Leslib]

As a former benefits administrator for a medium sized company I can tell you that $5K will NOT cover the insurance premiums for a family. $2,500 will BARELY cover the insurance premiums for a single subscriber - and only if you get a minimal amount of coverage. Add to that taxation of your medical premium and you are in a shortfall. For a family, depending on your income, that shortfall could be as much as $10K out of pocket. For an individual, it would likely be more on the order of $1K. On top of that add the stress of going out and looking for an insurance company who would underwrite your plan. As an individual rather than a group you would be looking at absolutely no buying power (potentially driving up that premium even further) and you would be subject to underwriting. That means submitting paperwork to substantiate the medical condition of every man, woman and child in your family. Then the paperwork would need to be reviewed by an underwriter for the health insurer...a process that can take weeks and which no doubt would grow to MONTHS given the change in the process. The insurance companies would incur additional costs just to keep up with the underwriting and those costs, of course, will be passed along to the consumer...thereby making J McC's $5K a joke.

[blueshield]

Mc.Cain's advisers have made it clear this plan is intended to cause Americans to choose "less costly" health plans: the tax credit may just enable a high deductible catastrophic only coverage. According to the Mc.Cain campaign, this is then supposed to create competition, and drive down health care insurance costs.

Even more troubling is the Mc.C plan to pay for this by slashing $1.3 trillion dollars from MEDICARE AND MEDICAID, which even the WSJ suggests is likely to mean reduced services.

Let seniors in your family and neighborhood know about Mc.Cain's cuts, at a time when their retirement nest eggs are evaporating.

[Xysea]

Less costly = fewer covered procedures. Just remember that.

Junk plans abound. I could, in theory go out and buy a plan right now for $100 a month to cover me. But it would cover next to nothing with high deductible and co-pays. And that's for a reasonably healthy adult.

A lot of plans are catastrophic only - ie, they cover ER visits or mandatory hospital stays but not routine wellness care. Those would do nothing in reducing costs. Only policies with preventative care plans can do that and those - because you use them more often, are more expensive.

If you're poor, what then?

It also doesn't address the monetary inequity in these programs. I may be middle class and can afford a program with preventative care, while someone working full time and making $15,000 a year less than me (who deserves NO less coverage or protection, mind you) would be forced to choose something inadequate because that's all they could afford.

Very, very sad. Americans deserve better. ALL Americans.

[puffthedragon]

I AM SO GLAD THIS ADD HAS COME OUT.... WHEN mc cain SAID LAST NIGHT THAT WITH HIS PLAN PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO SHOP AROUND FOR HEALTH INSURANCE...WTF.....WHEN YOU HAVE A PRECONDITION HEALTH ISSUE , YOU DONT SHOP AROUND.. NO ONE WILL SIGN YOU ON... AT THE SAME TIME MY HUSBAND LEFT HIS JOB FOR A MUCH BETTER PAYING JOB , (HE FOUND OUT THAT HE HAD TO WORK SIX MONTHS BEFORE WE WOULD BE COVERED ON INSURANCE) , I , ALREADY HAVING LUPUS, JUST FOUND OUT THAT I HAD BREAST CANCER AND NEEDED A DOUBLE MASTECTOMY...YEAH I COULD REALLY SHOP AROUND FOR A GOOD POLICY...AFTER A LONG BATTLE I WAS ABLE TO GET MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO COVER MY SURGERY AND TREATMENTS.. OH BY THE WAY , YES UNDER THE COBRA PROGRAM WE COULD HAVE BOUGHT INTO AN INSURANCE PROGRAM UNDER MY HUSBAND'S OLD EMPLOYER FOR $6OOO ., YEAH LIKE EVERYONE HAS THIS TYPE OF CASH ON HAND.....

[freebird67]

Wow. I hope everything turns out okay for you. My wife and I were on Cobra years ago and it was 6K a year then. So McCain's money would never cover it. Another thing is the fact that all companies would locate in the cheaper state. It would either be that, or go out of business. Either way some people would lose jobs.

[BlueDotInSeaOfRed]

This one is easy. It's mathematically impossible for the average American family to find healthcare insurance for $5,000 or less each year that is anything other than major medical coverage with HUGE deductibles leaving them essentially self-insured anyway. Couple that with the fact that it is a tax credit, meaning that people would have to lay the money out of their pockets BEFORE the credit, which, again, for many would be all but impossible because their meager budgets just won't bear it, leave the McCain Health plan all but meaningless for most.

AND, to add insult to injury, the loss of tax credits for employers who DO provide health coverage going away will probably lead to the loss of coverage by many Americans. If you think health insurance is expensive now, just wait until they lose huge numbers of policies because employers dump that benefit. It won't be less expensive due to "fair competition", it will be outside of all but the most wealthy citizens' reach.

Someone needs to break it down into simple arithmatic and publish it everywhere so the average American can see that McCain's plan is a plan for absolute diasaster in the health coverage for America.

[Steph 66]

I read the study closely. In the first year, up to 5 million healthy, uninsured people will be able to obtain health insurance. True, this is better than nothing for those 5 million people. However, to pay for this, there WILL be taxes on the health insurance people receive through work. This tax will be income tax for the insured AND Fica taxes for the the employer. Additionally, the employer will lose a tax credit they currently enjoy as an incentive to insure their employees. So,some companies will be forced to drop insurance coverage AND some employees will be unable to afford the taxes.

I did some research into how this would affect my family. We have an insurance policy through my husband's employer. We pay $500 a month for the premium, and his employer pays an additional $1200 a month. That means that our insurance costs $1700, roughly, per month. So the $5000 tax rebate would cover less than 3 MONTHS of insurance for us. And we do not have a "Cadillac" plan. Yes, it is better than some, but we have a $1000 deductible per person for anything outside of a doctor's visit or prescription, then it covers 80%, and we have prescription co-pays as high as $60.

THIS is why we need health care reform, and why McCain's plan doesn't cut it, at least for our family.

[Xysea]

The shorthand?

$1.3B is the cost of McCain's plan and it will cover 5M Americans.
$1.6B is the cost of Obama's plan and it will cover 34M Americans.

Which is the better deal?

[munki]

What a powerful ad...
Obama said in his debate last night...
His mother died of Cancer at age 53... so young!
At her last moment... she was in hospital bed dealing with insurance...
This ad just reminded me of what he said...

[Gary47]

Knock 'em off their feet, kick 'em while their down, and when they get up, run 'em out of town. Let's make this election the end of the republican party.

[paulfree17]

As a business owner who provides health care to over 70 employees I am frightened to death of McCain's health plan.

First of all, if we were taxed on the premiums we pay it would become very likely that we would no longer be able to offer the kind of health care coverage that we currently offer.

Second of all, and a lot of people do not realize this, a typical family policy costs well in excess of $1000 per month. This means at least $12,000 per year and this is for a group of 70 or more employees. Going out to buy a policy on your own would be even more expensive. So even if each person got a $5000 credit it would still cost them $7000 per year out of their own pocket just to obtain a policy. Add to this deductibles and copays and most American's would be spending $10,000 per year on health care.

Besides, if they had a pre-existing condition they would not be able to get a policy.

This plan is a disaster for the employee, for the employer and for the country.

[8IZENUF]

Thank you!

[abigail1]

very well put.

[DiBaskin]

I agree. When I retired from my job I moved to a different State. I was unable to get the Cola Insurance offered because I moved. I had no idea how expensive Health Care was. I got estimates off the internet, even with a large deductible it was very High. I think it was between $600 and $1000 a month. I ended up getting a PT job that offered Health Care. I can't imagine how much it would be for a family with kids.

McCain is out of touch and clueless if he thinks this is a good plan for the poor and middle class.

[westreal]

Punch to the gut

[annied]

As someone in the 60+ age group, nearing retirement and having a 401(k) that's shrinking fast -- I'd like to know more about that comment John McCain made in the debate about cutting Social Security for anyone who hasn't already started to collect.

[LCRover001]

What Mac danced around and hinted toward but never said was that he also plans to cut Medicare as well.

[BAVirago]

Yes, that's right! He did say that and it just went under radar. I'm frightened that he can even think about doing this. Why would anyone even close to the age at which they'd collect Soc. Sec. even *think* about voting for this man? Unless you're rich and can afford not to care about your fellow Americans who might be hurting.

And, you know, I also heard that McCain himself accepts Soc. Sec. benefits.

[timezone]

annie, I heard about a trillion dollar cut he wanted to make to SS and Medicare. Don't have the specifics or all the facts yet, but you can bet I'm researching it. His 5000 per person for health care must mean he thinks we're all stupid. You can't get much of anything for 5000, I know.

[DiBaskin]

I didn't hear him say this. I wonder if he means people who are close to retirement.

[Xysea]

Annie he said that people who will be accessing Social Security should expect lower benefits than those who are presently receiving it. It's in the transcript.

[jeffp26]

John McCain has had government sponsored health care insurance his entire life.

But he doesn't want you to have it!!!!!!!!

[Steph 66]

His quote about that was, "I didn't have any health insurance for five years in Viet Nam."

(eyeroll)

[Xysea]

Yes he did. He couldn't access it, but that doesn't mean he didn't have any. As I understand it, all military personnel are continuously covered.

[fallsgonnakillya]

McCain's "plan" for health care shows just how out of touch he is. He appears to naively believe that "basic economics" -- supply and demand -- control the insurance market. With his plan, he intends to create more individual demand and allegedly grant "more freedom" to the individual to shop plans. That only works if an individual has actual choices, and the only individuals who do are those with no actual need for insurance.

If McCain had spent a single day attempting to obtain non-employer (in his case, government) provided coverage -- or if he'd spoken to anyone who has -- he would understand. Health insurance is not an industry driven by supply and demand, nor is it a customer service oriented field. It is an entirely profit driven business, with the bottom line at the helm, and whether "a product" will be offered to meet "a demand" is determined by RISK ANALYSIS. Accordingly, if an individual is in any way a potential health risk, the insurance company is not signing on, period.

For this reason, we have FEDERAL mandates governing GROUP coverage, guaranteeing coverage and prohibiting the exclusion of pre-existing conditions. So, employers abandoning group coverage due to loss of tax benefit (and individuals effectively discouraged from group coverage due to a new tax on the benefit) results in insurance companies escaping federal mandates design to protect individuals.

The danger in McCain's plan is astounding, and goes well beyond the problem of having only $5,000 to purchase a $12,000

[8IZENUF]

Thank you. Your comment is well said!

[Blaheleven]

McCain's healthcare plan is by far the scariest part of his entire platform. I was all set to rant and rave about this issue in the comments, but I see you already beat me to the punch--and eloquently so, I might add.

I implore anybody who does not fully agree with what you just said, to call up an insurance company and inquire about their plans for individual coverage. Once you have honestly answered questions about your age, employment, lifestyle/habits, medical history, and prescriptions, you will see how much "freedom" you actually have to "shop" their healthcare plan/s. You will also find out how much it costs to obtain an individual plan (vs. a pooled employer-based plan,) if in fact, you qualify for coverage at all.

Lucky for McCain, he gets his health coverage through the government because he would be ineligible for coverage under his own plan.