Three National News Magazines Profile Democratic Presidential Candidate Howard Dean
Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report this week published profiles of presidential candidate and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D). Dean in May announced a health care plan that would provide near-universal access to health insurance through expanded federal programs and penalties for large employers that do not offer coverage to employees. Under the proposal, the federal SCHIP program would become the Family and Children Health Insurance Program; children and adults between ages 18 and 25 in families with incomes of less than 300% of the federal poverty level, or about $54,000 for a family of four, could enroll in the new program. In addition, parents with incomes of as much as 185% of the federal poverty level would qualify for the new program. The proposal also would establish a Universal Health Benefits Program, which would require insurers that offer health plans to federal employees to offer the same plans to individuals not covered by the new Family and Children Health Insurance Program, Medicaid or Medicare; individuals would pay no more than 7.5% of their adjusted gross income for the health coverage, and the federal government would provide a tax credit to cover the remainder of the cost. The proposal automatically would enroll individuals without health insurance into one of the programs but would allow them to opt out of coverage. According to Dean, the proposal would cost $88 billion in the first year and be funded by the repeal of some Bush administration tax cuts (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/14). The coverage includes the following:Newsweek: