The Liberty Papers

Presidential candidate John McCain introduced his healthcare plan today. It has some aspects that are an improvement of the current system, while there are some features that are bad.

First, the good:

The plan would end the tax incentives provided to businesses for providing healthcare to employees, and transfer that incentive to individuals for owning health care.

This will begin the process of making health care an individual responsibility, not a responsibility of the employer.

He also would allow insurance policies to be sold across the state lines

The back door way of dealing with state mandates for minimum insurance coverage. This will allow health care consumers to purchase insurance policies a la carte with the choice of services they want.

McCain’s plan also offers veterans an opportunity to seek government financed health care outside of the Veterans Administration system, by giving them the financing options to seek their own healthcare coverage.

Hopefully, this will turn into a voucher program where veterans are given vouchers to purchase private health insurance plans and we can kill the Veterans Administration.

Now the bad:

McCain would offer a $2,500 refundable tax credit to individuals who have health insurance, and $5,000 to families.

A welfare program, pure and simple. If these tax credits were non-refundable, I would not have a problem with them.

Also, not reported in the linked article, but McCain also called for action against obesity and smoking. While McCain did not specifically outline nanny state measures on both fronts, it’s a good bet they’re coming.

All in all, it could have been a worse plan McCain could have outlined than was actually announced. It is also much better than the alternatives coming out from the Democrats. However, it is by no means a perfect plan, but one that is certainly interesting.