Election 2008 | McCain Health Care Proposal Would Exclude U.S. Residents With Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, Elizabeth Edwards Says
[Mar 31, 2008]
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), on Saturday said that the health care proposal announced by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) would not provide health insurance for U.S. residents with pre-existing medical conditions, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Under the McCain proposal, health insurers "wouldn't have to cover pre-existing conditions like melanoma and breast cancer," Elizabeth Edwards said at the annual meeting of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Arlington, Va. Elizabeth Edwards, who has breast cancer that has spread to her bones, said that, under the McCain proposal, health insurers could deny coverage to both her and McCain, who has received treatment for melanoma. Democratic candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) both have announced health care proposals that would require health insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions.
In addition, according to Elizabeth Edwards, a provision in the McCain proposal that would allow residents to purchase health insurance across state lines would allow companies to shift operations to states with weaker consumer protection laws. McCain has said that the provision would increase competition among health insurers and reduce costs. However, Elizabeth Edwards said, "Hard-fought state-by-state protections would be lost" under the provision. She added, "They mask this proposal as a cost-saving technique. This is giving insurance companies a pass."
McCain senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin said that the comments from Elizabeth Edwards indicate she does not understand the McCain proposal. Holtz-Eakin said that the McCain proposal would "harness the power of competition to produce greater coverage for Americans" and reduce costs.
Elizabeth Edwards also said that the requirement in the Clinton proposal that all residents obtain health insurance "is a great plan." She added, "Until we get rid of the need for hospitals and other providers to cover the costs of people who are not covered ... the overall cost is not going to go down. The only real cost savings comes when you have universality" (Lin, Los Angeles Times, 3/30).
Kaisernetwork.org webcasts of Edwards' speech and other sessions from the Association of Health Care Journalists conference are available online.
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