The “New McCain Health Plan” Doesn’t Hold Up Under Scrutiny

• Some of what they say is a criticism of what is *not* in McCain's plan, which indicates it lacks a certain ambition, but doesn't really say why the proposal is still not an improvement from the status quo. (Frankly, it doesn't take much.)

• Clinton appropriately criticizes state high-risk pools (and her statement--"virtually all high-risk pools today have waiting lists, high premiums, and scaled-back benefits"--is a dead-on description for California's MRMIP, Managed Risk Medical Insurance Program, which now has a waiting list, is underfunded, has high premiums and a $75,000 benefit cap.)

• But in our current system, the state high-risk pools are an essential lifeline to coverage for many. The problem is not the high-risk pool itself, but the major people who are denied in the individual market, that the high-risk pool provides some comfort.

• The real issue is not the high-risk pools in the state as a solution, but that his plan seeeks to make the problem much bigger. The more he accomplishes his goal of moving people from group coverage (like that of their employer) to individual coverage, the more he creates the problem that he seeks to solve.

Here in California, Health Access California supports AB2 (Dymally) and other efforts to improve and better fund our high-risk pool, so more people, denied for pre-existing conditions, can at least get some coverage.

We were more pleased to support AB x1 1, the negotiated reform between the Governor and the Speaker, that included not only guaranteed issue--so no insurers could deny for health status--but it would expanded group coverage enough that there was a net decrease in the number of people having to get individual coverage.

This was important, because the individual market is fundamentally a place where the individual has little market power against the big insurers, as opposed to when they at least have the purchasing power of a group. McCain would place more people in the individual market.

So the criticism isn't that McCain relies on state-based high-risk pools, it's that he would increase the need for them in the first place.

Health Access California is a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition of over 200 groups. This article has also been published on the Health Access Weblog.