Jan 31, 2008 5:49 pm US/Central
Clinton, Obama Health Care Plan Comparisons
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
As Super Tuesday approaches, many voters are wondering "Where do the candidates stand on healthcare?"
CBS 2 Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports on what the Democratic candidates are proposing.
Sen. Hillary Clinton wants mandatory health insurance for everyone. Her $110 billon-a-year plan would offer everyone the chance to purchase insurance, and a range of plans and prices to choose from.
"It is not a government takeover of health care," Clinton said. "It is a public-private partnership that provides more choices."
Insurers could not charge higher rates to people with health problems.
Clinton would tax employer-paid health benefits for people making more than $250,000 a year.
Senator Obama's $65 billion-a-year plan makes insurance mandatory, but only for children. He wants family plans to cover kids up to age 25, and would create a national health insurance exchange to offer a range of plans and prices to small businesses and the uninsured.
"If you change jobs, your insurance will go with you," Obama said.
Obama would stop tax cuts for people making over $250,000 to pay for his plan.
Northwestern University medical economist David Dranove thinks universal coverage is critical -- for moral and financial reasons.
"There are 47 million Americans who are one illness away from financial catastrophe," he said.
While he thinks giving people and businesses more financial incentives could work, he sees little that will cut costs or improve quality.
"There's still just a tremendous amount of waste, and none of the candidates are talking directly about how to deal with that," Dranove said.
These are only highlights of the candidates' very detailed plans. You can read the entire proposals by going to the candidates' Web sites:
www.HillaryClinton.com and
www.BarackObama.com.
A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine said two-thirds of Democratic voters surveyed want health insurance for all, even if it means spending more. Only a quarter of Republican voters felt that way.
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