May 2, 2008

McCain Stretches Truth on NC Health Reform

Posted at 2:20 PM by Adam Searing

In national news this week, John McCain pointed to NC Blue Cross and North Carolina in an attempt to defend his healthcare reform proposals. McCain wants to put at risk the health coverage people get through their work and make them purchase coverage on the individual market. In support, McCain cited NC’s decade-old informal agreement with NC Blue Cross to be the state “insurer of last resort.” This means that NC Blue agreed to sell anyone who asks insurance – regardless of their health condition. Unfortunately, there was nothing in this agreement specifying how much NC Blue could charge for that guaranteed insurance – a fact that McCain conveniently leaves out of the discussion. NC Blue can – and does – charge anything it likes for this coverage. The result? Only about 100 people in the entire state (as reported in early 2007) can actually buy the Blue health coverage – none of the other 1.3 million uninsured people in North Carolina can afford the premium. That’s what McCain healthcare reform looks like in practice. Seems like the “straight talker” might want to get his facts straight on this one.

 

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