Everyone in this country should have basic health care coverage. Only a generation or two ago, many workers had a retirement plan called a "pension." The pension, which was basically a paycheck that continued on after your retirement, long ago went the way of the dinosaur. There are few entities that offer a true pension anymore. Company sponsored health insurance is teetering on the brink of the same sort of extinction. Elect McCain if you want to see health insurance benefits pushed over the edge and roll away into the past.

Even though there are millions of Americans without health insurance, we still have a large population (over 60% of us) that have some benefits offered through their workplaces. Though most people have to pay a portion, if not all, of the premium, these benefits are currently tax free. That means that the money is paid out from your paycheck prior to the government carving out their niche.

McCain's new health plan is to make health insurance a taxable benefit. Health benefits can cost your company (and/or you) about $12,000 for an average family per year. Now, imagine paying taxes on that. McCain's plan is then to offer a larger tax credit ($5,000 for a family) as an incentive for them to get their own insurance. That math doesn't work out in our favor at all. That is still about $7,000 short of full coverage and about double what the average family is paying now.

And what about the people who cannot afford to have that larger tax payment carved out of their paycheck or to get individual insurance (costing a lower premium but offering much less in the way of coverage). Employees will have to decline health benefits that are company provided, even if the company pays the full premium, because the taxes will be more than they can afford. They will join the ranks of the uninsured. Employers will have little to no incentive to try and offer these benefits anymore. For many of us, the tax credit will not cover the loss in coverage. McCain will effectively raise taxes for those who can afford it the least.

Our system is already flawed by the rising costs of employee paid premiums, co-pays, and coverage that is based on a percentage rather than need. People are adopting the mentality that they should "wait" before seeing a doctor or specialist when they have a problem because of the out of pocket cost. This is a dangerous game. We are playing with our personal health. McCain's plan also allows states to determine their own rules for the insurance companies, which leaves questions about pre-existing conditions and life-time medications up in the air.

As companies begin to stop offering group health care, we will be forced to find it (or not) on our own. The individual will end up paying more. Companies that offer a group plan have more buying power in their collective employees. Therefore they are able to offer more competitive rates.

Having medical insurance is necessary in our world today. What family is going to stand by and watch a loved one waste away from cancer or another terrible illness when treatment is available, no matter how expense it is? Every one of us will be vulnerable to being obliged to mortgage our futures away at the slightest turn of fate.

You need insurance. I need insurance. My babies need insurance. Our government should be responsive to our needs. They should WANT us to have insurance and not be trying to make money off of a basic human need such as health care.