Kerry Health Care Plan Is Expensive; NCPA President Says Cost Far Exceeds Benefits 3/8/2004
From: Richard Walker, 800-859-1154 or rwalker@ncpa.org, or Sean Tuffnell, 800-859-1154; both of the National Center For Policy Analysis News Advisory: NCPA President John C. Goodman analyzed the health plan of likely Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on CNNfn, saying "The burden Sen. Kerry's plan places on taxpayers is far too heavy in relation to the gain patients would receive." According to a prominent Democratic economist, Sen. Kerry's plan would cost $895 billion over the next 10 years and insure 27 million uninsured Americans, many of whom are children. However, the annual cost of Kerry's plan is $3,300 per newly insured, or $10,000 for a family of 3. "Insuring a healthy child should cost less than $1,000 annually," Goodman said, adding, "Under Sen. Kerry's plan, taxpayers would pay more for insurance for the uninsured than they currently spend on their own insurance." Health care will be one of the primary issues in the 2004 election, and Kerry is now the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. The NCPA has several experts who can discuss both the Bush and Kerry health care plans: -- John C. Goodman, who has been called the "Father of Health Savings Accounts" by the National Journal and The Wall Street Journal. -- Thomas R. Saving, trustee of Social Security and Medicare and NCPA Senior Fellow. -- Gerald Musgrave, president of Economics America and NCPA senior fellow. -- Devon Herrick, director of the NCPA's Consumer-Driven Health Care Web site ( http://cdhc.ncpa.org ) and NCPA Senior Fellow. For more information, please also see: http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba465/ -- Two Cheers for the Bush Health Plan http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st242/ -- Characteristics of an Ideal Health Care System ------ The NCPA is an internationally known nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Dallas and Washington, D. C. that advocates private solutions to public policy problems. We depend on the contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations that share our mission. The NCPA accepts no government grants. |