McCain health plan is on right track

McCain's health plan deserves a better response from the voting public. The issue is health freedom. Health insurance should be a retail product promoted directly to the patient instead of the human resource director. The patient should choose which medical options are important for their family based on suitability, not based on the cost to the employer.

Most state legislatures have required insurers to cover thousands of specific medical options. Some of the mandates may be objectionable to the consumer for practical, natural or moral reasons. Purchasing outside of state mandate boundaries will allow consumers the choice of alternative treatments or less invasive treatment options. In any case, the consumers are choosing the options important to them and will share the cost with like-minded consumers.

I have a graduate degree in health administration and have been a long proponent of health insurance as a retail product and not as an employee benefit.

Currently consumers have limited availability of health insurance outside of the employer based system. The system was designed by the medical providers to ensure payment not for the consumers. When most health insurance is purchased privately the cost and the options will be greatly expanded through competition among insurers. Adding this consumer-based health insurance system will not affect or eliminate the ongoing need for a public health insurance system for indigent patients.

McCain's proposal would greatly empower the majority of health care consumers.

Cheryl Puhl

Pingree Grove