October Newsletter

Candidates Not Fans of Single-Pay Health System

The News-Sentinel  -  Jennifer L. Boen  -  September 26, 2008

The Medicare-like system that many health care providers who spoke Wednesday at the downtown library favor has failed to win the support of either presidential candidate.

Dr. Woody Myers, a former Indiana state health commissioner and a senior health care adviser to Democrat Barack Obama, said such a system is difficult to define because it has been an evolving concept. "Sen. Obama's clear belief is we've got to start where we are," Myers said.

Obama wants to retain an employer-based system, he added, with his goal being to improve it by offering private and public plans. The latter would be similar to what federal employees now get.

"Jumping into what anybody's idea is of a single-payer system is just too big a step," Myers said.

Obama wants all children to be insured, and he would increase funding for Medicaid-eligible children. Medicaid covers the poor, Medicare provides for those 65 and older, and some people are insured through their employer.

"But then there are the people in the middle," Myers said, who can't qualify for Medicaid or Medicare or can't afford or do not have access to private insurance. Obama, he said, "would move Medicaid and the private system into that gap."
State Rep. Matt Bell, whose 83rd District includes southwest Allen County, spoke for Republican John McCain.

"I think there's a real fear that a single-payer system would affect care," Bell said.
McCain's platform includes a $2,500 tax credit per individual, with up to $5,000 for families to offset health insurance costs in what would be a hybrid of employer-based insurance, with guaranteed portability for people who change jobs or even for the person who "wants to take a couple years off to raise children." Health savings accounts would be expanded, which would "empower folks to manage their own health care," he said.

Both campaigns spoke strongly in support of the federal government lowering Medicare drug costs through price negotiations with drug companies in the way the VA system buys medications