McCain health care reform puts decisions in the hands of families, not the government

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign held a press conference call to discuss his remarks on health care reform delivered earlier today in Tampa, Florida. Doug Holz-Eakin, senior policy adviser, and Carly Fiorina, RNC Victory 2008 chair, described the health care plan and its goals and proposed outcomes.

Holz-Eakin said McCain wanted to create a plan with better health care at a lower cost, where insurance can move with someone from job to job, and that addressed the fears of people with pre-existing conditions. He said McCain looked, and will continue looking, at experiments by states to find successful health care programs, and he plans to work with Congress to provide funding.

Fiorina said the plan is designed to put patients in control of their health care, rather than doctors, hospitals or the government. She said it allows patients to choose and purchase health insurance from anywhere in the country, and that the competition and choice will drive down costs. She emphasized the transparency of McCain’s plan, and its focus on making sure costs cover treatment and not simply tests and procedures. She said the plan also focuses on prevention and wellness, since many diseases that contribute to the costs of health care are preventable and treatable conditions. She also said McCain believes in drug competition, and that everyone must be covered.

Fiorina said the fundamental difference between McCain’s health care plan and the plans proposed by Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama is that McCain’s plan puts the choice, power, and decision of insurance in the hands of families, while Clinton and Obama propose putting the federal government in charge of health care. She also said McCain’s plan depends on the powers of the free market, which will drive the costs down.