Prospect of 'McCaincare' Terrifies Krugman

John McCain’s health care plan seems designed for “comforting the comfortable while afflicting the afflicted,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. McCain “wants to blow up the current system” by junking the tax break for employer-provided insurance. To compensate for the lost insurance, McCain offers families a $5,000 credit. But $5,000 won’t buy insurance for a family, especially one with any health problems.

Though slightly more people would be insured under the McCain plan than the current system, “the people gaining insurance would be those who need it least: relatively healthy Americans with high incomes,” Krugman writes. "In short, the McCain plan makes no sense at all, unless you have faith that the magic of the marketplace can solve all problems."
(More John McCain stories.)