Health Matters in the 2008 Election

Health Issues 101

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Health Savings Accounts

Health savings accounts are bank accounts where you can save money tax-free to spend on health care costs. HSAs are only allowed in conjunction with a qualified health plan, typically high-deductible insurance plans that have lower monthly premiums but require patients to spend more of their own cash on health services than they would under other types of insurance.The law limits the amount you can put into an HSA, with those limits being adjusted annually by the U.S. Treasury Department. For 2008, those limits are $2,900 for individuals and $5,800 for families. President Bush heavily promotes HSAs as a good way to give Americans more responsibility and control over their own health choices. Critics say the accounts primarily benefit wealthier people who can afford to save more money and risk paying higher deductibles.

Health Tax Credit

One proposal for expanding access to health insurance is the health tax credit. The plan would let middle class individuals and families save on their income taxes and then use the extra money to buy health coverage. Several presidential candidates of both parties have proposed using credits to make it easier for Americans to buy coverage. Some policy makers like the idea of using tax credits as an alternative to expanding government health programs. But critics charge that using the credits alone won't help most people who now lack insurance. That's because most plans so far have proposed credits of about $3,000 for a family of four. Meanwhile, private coverage for the average family can cost upwards of $12,000.

Hospital Report Card

Hospital report cards are part of a growing trend to provide consumers more information about the quality of health services. The government recently began requiring most hospitals to report statistics on how effectively they treat common diseases like diabetes and heart failure, and those reports are now allowing consumers to compare quality for the first time. The newest hospital report card, called Hospital Compare, is run by the federal government. It lets consumers see how consistently a given hospital delivers recommended care, but it won't tell you how often individual hospitals actually prevent death or disease recurrence.

Late Term or "Partial Birth" Abortion

Late-term abortion can refer broadly to a termination of pregnancy in the second or third trimester, but groups differ on the exact range of time. The procedure has been at the heart of recent abortion controversies as laws regulating it have been challenged before the Supreme Court. About two-thirds of states have laws banning certain late-term abortions. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress may ban late-term abortions. Though it is relatively rare, late-term abortion is even more contentious than other forms of abortion because it takes place at a more advanced state of fetal development, and even the terminology used to describe it is controversial. Opponents call the procedure used in some late-term abortions "partial-birth abortion" because the fetus is sometimes partially removed from the birth canal before it is terminated.

Medicaid

Medicaid is the government health insurance program for low-income and poor Americans. About 45 million Americans receive medical coverage through Medicaid's "safety net," though unlike Medicare, the states run their own programs with financial help from the federal government. Coverage rules are slightly different in every state, but on average, Medicaid covers persons living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Medicare

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for the nation's senior citizens over 65 and disabled persons. More than 43 million Americans get their health care paid for through Medicare, which is funded by a combination of your tax dollars and premiums paid by beneficiaries themselves. The amount of coverage Medicare offers varies according to patients' income. But in general, the program pays about 80% of the cost of hospital stays, doctors' visits, and prescription drugs.

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Health Matters in the 2008 Election

The content contained in WebMD's "Health Matters in the 2008 Election" section is for informational purposes only. WebMD does not endorse any specific political party, candidate, committee, idea or belief.

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