The Candidates on the Issues

The Basics
•Increase taxes to pay for expanded care?
•Require businesses to provide health care for most employees?
•Require children's health insurance?

McCain
•Would end employer-based exclusions but replace them with individual tax credits
•Lets those who want to shop for non-employer health plans buy coverage in other states
•Opposes all mandates for health care

Obama
•Plan calls for rolling back the Bush tax cuts for households making more than $250,000
•Except for small businesses, all employers must cover employees or pay a payroll tax
•All children must have health insurance, with a goal of universal coverage

The Big Question:
Should employers, not individuals, take the lead in providing health care for Americans?

MCCAIN

NO: Under the current system, Americans get a tax break on health insurance only if they receive that insurance through their employer. I would reform the tax subsidy to be fair, replacing the existing break with a refundable tax credit that American families can use to either keep their employer-provided coverage or help to buy a policy of their choice in the individual market. Replacing the exclusion with the credit would benefit American families not only through greater competition in the insurance market but also by giving the average family $1,200 to $1,400 in additional benefits.

OBAMA

YES: My plan builds on the current system of employer-sponsored health care by offering new choices and lowering costs by $2,500 per family. If you like your current coverage, you can keep it under my plan. If you don't have health care or want new choices, individuals and businesses will have the opportunity to purchase quality private health plans just like those offered to members of Congress. My plan will require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and will provide tax credits to small businesses and working families.