McCain Complains Obama Health Plan Cares about Children Post Birth

I have to admit, last night's debate was mildly entertaining at points. In particular, I was left scratching my head during the discussion of health care/health insurance.

MCCAIN: Well, thank you for the question. You really identified one of the really major challenges that America faces. Co-payments go up, costs go up, skyrocketing costs, which make people less and less able to afford health insurance in America.

And we need to do all of the things that are necessary to make it more efficient. Let's put health records online, that will reduce medical errors, as they call them. Let's have community health centers. Let's have walk-in clinics. Let's do a lot of things to impose efficiencies.

But what is at stake here in this health care issue is the fundamental difference between myself and Senator Obama. As you notice, he starts talking about government. He starts saying, government will do this and government will do that, and then government will, and he'll impose mandates.

If you're a small business person and you don't insure your employees, Senator Obama will fine you. Will fine you. That's remarkable. If you're a parent and you're struggling to get health insurance for your children, Senator Obama will fine you.

[snip]

OBAMA: So let me -- let me just talk about this fundamental difference. And, Tom, I know that we're under time constraints, but Senator McCain through a lot of stuff out there.

Number one, let me just repeat, if you've got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All I'm going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You'll still have choice of doctor. There's no mandate involved.

Small businesses are not going to have a mandate. What we're going to give you is a 50 percent tax credit to help provide health care for those that you need.

Now, it's true that I say that you are going to have to make sure that your child has health care, because children are relatively cheap to insure and we don't want them going to the emergency room for treatable illnesses like asthma.

And when Senator McCain says that he wants to provide children health care, what he doesn't mention is he voted against the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program that is responsible for making sure that so many children who didn't have previously health insurance have it now.

Now, the final point I'll make on this whole issue of government intrusion and mandates -- it is absolutely true that I think it is important for government to crack down on insurance companies that are cheating their customers, that don't give you the fine print, so you end up thinking that you're paying for something and, when you finally get sick and you need it, you're not getting it.

[snip]

MCCAIN: I don't believe that -- did we hear the size of the fine?

In making such a stink about Obama wanting to make sure parents are responsible about the lives, health and well-being of their children, is McCain saying that it's a horrible thing to make a parent obtain health insurance coverage that will better enable them to obtain treatment for a sick child (and do what they can to ensure their children don't get sick)?

Surely I'm not the only one who noted an exponential increase in the hypocrisy of the McCain-Palin ticket and the Republican "save the unborn zygotes" platform when McCain complained that Obama would hold parents responsible for not obtaining insurance for their children when affordable insurance was made available to them? I mean, seriously, the Republicans want to criminalize abortion to save the unborn babies but now they seem to be against any sort of fail-safe to ensure that child's health and well being?

Tags: McShame politics conservatism economy health care domestic policy

Sphere: Related Content