Bush's health care plan not most effective
Mon Mar 19, 2007 3:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least two of the health care proposals being presented to Congress would cover all or nearly all of the Americans who lack health insurance, and many would lower spending, too, according to an independent report released on Monday.

Many of the plans would do more to cover uninsured Americans and lower costs than President George W. Bush's proposals, said the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, which studies health care issues.

Health care has emerged as one of the top political issues of 2007, with groups as diverse as labor unions and major retailers teaming up to propose changes.

Several studies have found fault with the current U.S. system -- a free-for-all in which employers provide most health care, government programs provide much of the rest and 47 million Americans are left with no health insurance.

"If we don't move to make changes to our failing health care system, the number of uninsured in this country is projected to rise to 56 million by 2013," Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis said in a statement.

"Many of these proposals demonstrate that it is possible to move toward the high performance health care system Americans want and deserve while assuring access to health care for everyone," Davis said.

For Monday's report, staffers at the fund analyzed 10 health care plans introduced in 2006 and 2007 in the U.S. Congress, as well as Bush's proposals.

California Democratic Rep. Pete Stark's AmeriCare proposal that builds on Medicare and the employer-based system could save families with low and moderate incomes a collective $142.6 billion in 2007 and would cover 47.8 million extra Americans, the study found.

Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has proposed a bill that would also benefit low- and moderate-income households, to the tune of $78.8 billion, and would cover 45 million uninsured Americans.

Under Bush's proposal to help individuals buy their own health insurance with tax breaks, family spending on health care would fall by $31 billion.

But the Commonwealth Fund analysis found that families with annual incomes of less than $10,000 would save only $23 in 2007, while families earning $150,000 or more per year would save an average of $1,263 under the Bush plan.

Bush's plan would cover only 9 million extra Americans who now lack insurance.

The report found that the cost to administer the insurance program nationally would increase by $5.5 billion under Bush's plan, while such costs would fall under other plans.