The side-by-side comparison below focuses on important health care issues not necessarily addressed in the candidates' health care reform proposals. It was prepared by the Kaiser Family Foundation with the assistance of Health Policy Alternatives, Inc. The comparisons are based on information compiled from the candidates' Web sites, speeches and campaign debates.
John McCain
Barack Obama
Transparency and Comparative Effectiveness
Transparency
- Supports making more information public on treatment options and the performance and safety records of doctors, and requiring transparency regarding medical outcomes, quality of care, costs and prices.
- Supports facilitating the development of national standards for measuring and recording treatments and outcomes.
- Supports requiring full transparency regarding quality and costs.
- Would require hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality, including data on preventable medical errors, nurse staffing ratios, hospital-acquired infections, and disparities in care.
- Would require health plans to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to patient care as opposed to administrative costs.
Comparative Effectiveness
- Supports comparative effectiveness but believes it should be a private sector driven exercise, not controlled through a centralized government process.
- Proposes an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness, so that Americans and their doctors would have the accurate and objective information they need to make decisions for their health and well-being.
Transparency and Comparative Effectiveness
