Presidential Candidates Don't Cut It With Healthcare Plans

Despite
healthcare spending almost doubling that of other industrialized nations,
the United States has a system that needs change, according to Dr. Don
McCanne of Physicians for a National Health Policy. Ranked 37^th
amongst other countries, the health care system will be in the hands
of the next President.

Republican presidential candidate John
McCain has proposed a $5,000 tax credit for citizens to buy their own
insurance. Democratic candidate Barack Obama however, plans to lower
employer-based plan premiums and subsidize plans for those without one.
Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, says neither
candidate's ideas will fix the system which currently sees 47 million
uninsured Americans.

"McCain's plan will make things
even worse than they are now," she said. "He would push for acceleration
of the privatization of the US medicare system by handing money over
to private interest companies."

Woolhandler says that McCain has lied,
stating that one can buy a family policy in the US for just over US$5,000,
while she pits the price at closer to US$12,000. Citing historic attempts
at securing universal healthcare in the US, Woolhandler notes the problems
with Obama's plan.

"Obama's plan will not fix the system,"
she said. "It will not get us universal health care, so we sometimes
call it the 'wish it would work' plan."

However, according to McCanne, the government
must get involved in healthcare. Bush recently nationalized banks and
the question remains as to whether hospitals will face the same fate.

"Every other nation has shown the
government has to be involved in healthcare," he said. "That's
why they have better systems at significantly lower costs than ours."

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Network: Presidential Candidates Don't Cut It With Healthcare Plans