Ten days and counting. The 2008 United States presidential elections are closing in on American citizens, who are scheduled to cast their votes on November 4. The two candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have been playing, one by one, all their cards during their presidential campaigns, in an attempt to win over voters, especially those in swing states, which are the ones where neither nominee has come into overwhelming support.

Nevertheless, the most controversial issue that has given rise to heated debates over the last month and also the one that seems apt to tip the scale in favour of one or the other presidential candidate appears to be Obama’s and McCain’s views on reforming the current U.S. health-care system.

The former nominee’s plan draws its core from the idea of developing a new government insurance program that would provide health insurance for every American by the year 2012. Government insurance is expected to decrease the number of people who seek private coverage by 22 million within the first year, while the number of Americans with public insurance plans (via Obama’s one, Medicaid or the federal-state children's program Schip) is estimated to go up by approximately 44 million.

The incentive, or better yet, the coercion method Obama’s plan entails is requiring medium or large companies to provide their employees with health insurance or otherwise pour a tax into a fund for the uninsured. No details on what the tax rate would be have been made public.

For the Republicans’ team, John McCain pitching. His own idea concerning the necessary changes to the nation’s health care system. His plan centers on replacing the workplace deduction with tax credits amounting to $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families, a measure aimed at encouraging Americans to look for the best benefits and also the best prices in their choice for an insurance plan, thus actually pushing them towards choosing a private health care plan rather than settling for what their employer has to offer in the matter. The exact opposite of what Obama seeks to do, in other words.

Still, ten more days. And the world will get to see what Americans deem fit for them in terms of health-care plans. And in terms of presidents, as well.