During last night's debate, the candidates discussed the major provisions of their health care plans. Nothing particularly surprisingly or new came out of it, but if a bill circulating through Congress is passed, a provision of McCain's plan could become more important

Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced a bill last week to require employers to print the cost of health insurance on employees’ W-2 forms. Baucus and Grassley believe that this level of transparency will help consumers to be more cognizant of the rising costs of health care. Educated consumers, they say, will be more prudent and help to lower spending. 

Meanwhile, McCain would give employees (families) a $5,000 tax break on insurance they purchase, but simultaneously tax their employer insurance as income. For some employees it will be a net plus, for others, not. Either way, transparency would be key. The Business Roundtable and US Chamber, normally supportive of Republican platforms, are opposed to this because they think it will cause people to quit employer coverage and create a sicker workforce. The Washington Post and WSJ have run articles on pros and cons here.

Many economists see McCain’s plan as being about equal to Obama’s plan in covering uninsured persons, but the Lewin Group opined that it will much more expensive in the long run. Hard to say. Meanwhile, McCain pundits are claiming Obama wants to eliminate private coverage, and that’s not true. He would prevent insurers from using pre-existing exclusions and taking excessive profits; while McCain is silent there.  Trade offs.

But no matter who is elected, I think the discussion on how to move forward needs to take some time and more careful discussion.