Protecting Families From McCain's Broken Health Care Plan

Lost in the campaign silly season of talking heads debating lipstick, Hockey Moms and Tina Fey's latest sketch on Saturday Night Live is one of the most crucial issues of this election year: the future of America's health care.

On Tuesday, a group of health experts released a study in the prominent policy journal Health Affairs which showed that under Senator McCain and Governor Palin's health care proposal, millions of Americans will be forced from employer-based health insurance into individual and family plans - the kind you or I can purchase directly from insurance companies.

Let me tell you about individual and family plans.

As the City of Los Angeles' chief prosecutor, I have sued HealthNet, Blue Cross and Blue Shield for a practice that - in the intentionally opaque parlance of the insurance industry - is called "post-claims underwriting."

A better term for it might be "a shell game."

Most Americans think of health insurance as just that: insurance. We pay our premiums when we're healthy so we'll have guaranteed coverage when we're sick.

But these huge corporations think of health insurance as something entirely different: pure profit! They'll gladly cash your premium checks when you're healthy. But if you get sick, they'll find a way to cancel your coverage, and abandon you in potentially your darkest hour.

In California, Blue Shield has already canceled coverage for more than 850 sick policyholders, HealthNet has canceled more than 1,600 policies, and Blue Cross has canceled more than 6,000 policies.

Unlike employer-provided group plans -- in which enrollees are automatically accepted and therefore almost never cancelled when they get sick -- when you boil it down, no American with an individual or family plan actually has a guarantee of health insurance.

In exchange for their premiums, policyholders receive an official-looking card, and maybe a few doctor visits for a check-up or a minor ailment.

But that's it. Anything more than a minor medical problem will trigger a series of investigations into you, your background, and even your family. The sicker you get, the more intense the investigation becomes. HealthNet even gave monetary bonuses to its employees to encourage them to cancel more policies. The more sick people they canceled, the more money they made.

If you're a shareholder, that's a great business model: collect expensive premiums, and provide little or no services in return.

But if you're a policyholder - especially a sick policyholder - this appalling practice can bankrupt and even kill you. And believe me; while you may be struggling for your life, the lawyers for these insurance companies are working 24 hours a day, 7-days a week to protect their companies' bottom line - and your coverage becomes a casualty in this single-minded drive for profitability.

This is Senator McCain's America.

In the name of "choice," the McCain-Palin Plan would use tax incentives to wean Americans from employer-based plans that protect millions of workers and their families.

In Senator McCain's America, every American would fend for themselves against some of the most powerful corporations in the country.

In Senator McCain's America, these corporations would maximize their profits at the expense of us all.

In Senator McCain's America, whenever you got sick, you'd have to fight your insurance company at the same time you're fighting for your own life.

Senator Obama's America is an entirely different nation when it comes to health care.

In Senator Obama's America, every American would have the option to join a low-cost, high quality publicly funded health care system - a system with no profit motive, and therefore a moral and economic incentive to keep you well.

You'd still be able to retain your employer-provided coverage if you chose to do so, but the mere availability of a public plan - resembling the one used by every member of Congress, including Senator McCain - would transform the marketplace and create real economic consequences for the cynical games these huge corporations play with our money and our lives.

Comments

[hughgrection77]

I've got an idea. Why don't we have knowledgeable and
qualified health care insurance specialists drive around
the country in a big bus showing people how they can
afford health insurance. Maybe they could cancel their
cable tv or buy a cheaper car or not get their hair and
nails done or not buy beer or not buy that new video
game, or not buy those lottery tickets, etc.
Of course, this doesn't include the people
here in this country illegally. We would help them with
another bus but, in this bus would be people showing
them ways to go back to their own countries and fix
their own governments.

[RegLib]

Great post! The motive behind McCain's policy, just like his support for privatizing social security, is to push more profits into the coffers of large corporations. The corporations that charge far more for individual policies and, like you say, dump anyone who is unfortunate enough to need actual medical care, because there there is no group leverage to keep the companies in line like there is with employer-based or publicly-funded insurance. Couple this with McCain's often repeated opposition to corporate regulation, and you have a truly poisonous prescription.

Republicans love to squawk "Socialized Medicine" whenever anyone proposes a solution that would cover all Americans. Ever notice how citizens of countries with actual socialized medicine never seem to be squawking that they'd like to be on an American-style system?

[sfmama]

I think this is a huge issue that should be front and center. When I read the report on McCain's healthcare plan that estimated 5 million fewer people would be covered if his plan is enacted, I thought this is unbelievable. I think Obama's got the right line when he says McCain "doesn't get it." Also, McCain is lying when he says he won't raise taxes. Under this so-called "healthcare plan" those who are fortunate enough to get coverage through their employers will be taxed on it.
Read the report and then bring this up with people who are thinking of voting McCain.

[windwalker1984]

I can tell you first hand what is wrong with individual health insurance policies. My spouse had a minor heart attack 5 years ago. We are self employed and therefore do not have a group plan. The insurance company fought us every step of the way in paying the bills -- denied claims, reduced benefits paid, you name it they did it. We ended up having to pay almost $40,000 out of pocket.

THEN the insurance company (a big name company) changed our plan. Yes, we can get insurance -- IF we could afford to pay $17,600 per year. Oh, that excludes my spouse's heart condition. If there's another heart attack, we may as well claim bankruptcy.

THIS IS THE HEALTH INSURANCE JOHN MCCAIN THINKS ALL WORKING AMERICANS SHOULD HAVE.

[kevingiampa]

Great post.

[Willow712]

I have a disability, which doesn't affect me a lot, but makes me almost completely uninsurable for a private company. I have narcolepsy, it doesn't send me to the hospital, it doesn't even make a lot of copays for the Dr. but I have medicine that costs over 1000 dollars a month, with a copay (right now) of 35 dollars. I cannot get private insurance (or it will cost over 1600 dollars a month), so a 2500 dollar rebate won't help me at all. Americans need an insurance such as obama is talking about. Either that, or I'll have to go fight to get disability, so I can get medicare insurance. I'd rather work.

[LeftRight]

Oh c'mon!! mcbush will ALSO give you a $5,000 tax credit (if you're married filing jointly) which should almost cover half the premium cost!

[Dynamohum]

You are joking, right? The experts have already fact checked the $5,000 tax credit. It would amount to an extra $700 a year. One month's premium for alot of couples. Some plan!!
NO WAY NO HOW NO MCBLAME NO FAILIN

[LeftRight]

I was being sarcastic. That's why I pointed out that the $5,000 (assuming that it was an actual tax credit, and not simply a deduction) would pay around half the premiums for most people!

[careerdues]

Apparently the fundamentals must be good in the Insurance sector as well! But, this time (really all the time) Mac must not be talking about the american worker. His ignorance is clearly not limited to the "economy"!!

[LizM]

You obviously have not been following Joe Biden on the stump! You are really missing out and so are your readers.