(This is a variation on my post at Economists for Obama)
A number of bloggers and journalists have cited the recent study (pdf) published in the journal Health Affairs that shows how the McCain plan would reduce the number of insured over the long-run through changes in the tax treatment of health coverage.
What's overlooked is that there are some other negative aspects to the McCain plan that are worth emphasizing and that all voters but particularly women should be aware of. (details are over the fold)
Before turning to women's health, one key point that has been overlooked is that the current tax exclusion of employer coverage (that McCain wants to get rid of) has the added benefit of providing protection to low wage workers:
"...to qualify for the tax subsidy, employers must abide by IRS nondiscrimination rules, which require firms to provide similar benefits to high- and low-wage employees. These rules have the effect of increasing the health insurance coverage of less skilled workers who work in firms that also employ highly skilled workers."
That's all we need...even more inequality in compensation!
Another salient point is that the McCain plan would effectively bypass many state level health protections:
"Currently, the nongroup insurance market is regulated at the state level...Senator McCain’s proposal envisions a relatively unregulated national market for nongroup insurance...
The main effect of establishing a national market would be to undo state laws designed to establish minimum levels of coverage and protect consumers. In a national market where state licenses are not required, insurers will charter in places where regulations are scarce—much like credit card companies do today. ... People in most states would lose access to procedural protections, such as requirements that disputed decisions by managed care plans be subject to external review. People also would lose access to many benefit protections. For example, forty-seven states now require mental health parity, forty-nine states require coverage of breast cancer reconstructive surgery, and twenty-nine require coverage of cervical cancer screening. All of these requirements—as well as regulations in several states that limit the rates that can be charged to higher-cost consumers and that limit who can be excluded from a health plan—would be eliminated under the McCain plan."
So good luck if you get breast cancer and your coverage is based in Ohio, South Dakota or Wyoming --there is no required coverage. If you have a prior history of breast cancer only 7 states will protect you from a denial in coverage. And you better decide quickly what kind of treatment you want. Six states— Alabama, Illinois, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island— impose time limits on how long a woman has to choose to have reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy (link (pdf)). Yup, you're going to be treated like welfare moms.
Also see this report by CAP on the effects of McCain's plan on women's health.