A new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) claims that the healthcare platform of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may threaten healthcare coverage for millions.
The study indicates that McCain's plan would cause an estimated 7.8 percent of Americans in each state to lose employer-sponsored coverage. According to EPI, McCain's plan would disintegrate employer-provided coverage by eliminating tax incentives for employers to provide coverage, leaving some 11 million to 27 million people nationwide without coverage.
A research bulletin published September 26 by the EPI Policy Center analyzed the state-by-state impact of McCain's plan to eliminate the tax break for employers.
The report, "McCain Plan Accelerates Loss in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance," written by economists Josh Bivens and Elise Gould, argues that McCain's proposed change would "significantly accelerate" the decline of employer-provided coverage, a pool that has already shrunk by 5.4 percent since 2000.
"This part of the McCain proposal makes it more expensive for employers to provide health coverage to their employees, so we will see more of them dropping this benefit," said Gould, an expert on employer-provided health insurance. "Many employees and their families will be forced into the individual market, where high-quality plans are harder to obtain, especially for those who are not young and healthy."
The impact of McCain's plan would vary from state to state but would produce losses in coverage everywhere, researchers said. EPI's findings showed that a minimum of one of every 13 people in every state now covered under employer plans would lose coverage. In the vast majority of states the share of people displaced from current coverage would be at least one in 10. In the worst-case states, the impact would be about twice as great – with nearly one in six faced with the loss of employer-sponsored coverage.
"It's hard to think of any other change that could do more harm than this one to a healthcare system that's already weakened," said Bivens. "It will cost millions of Americans their current employer-based health insurance, and it provides no alternative source of coverage that matches the protections offered by employer plans."