Democrat Barack Obama’s plan would cover 34 million of the nation’s projected 67 million uninsured people in 10 years, compared with just 2 million covered under Republican John McCain’s plan, according to a report released by the Commonwealth Fund. A recent analysis published in the journal Health Affairs suggests that the McCain’s plan will lead employers to drop coverage for over 20 million Americans, while 21 million people would gain coverage through the individual market.

McCain’s plan would eliminate tax breaks on employer-sponsored health care benefits and instead give Americans tax credits to seek their own plans in the private market. Individuals would get a $2,500 tax credit and families would get a $5,000 credit. The Arizona senator says his health care plan would reduce the amount most Americans spend on health care by creating more competition for insurance plans and better coverage options.

Obama, on the other hand, targets medium and large companies where paying taxes is concerned, asking them to pour money into a fund for the uninsured if they do not wish to provide their employees with health-care coverage.

One of the problems that Obama has identified in McCain’s plan is that he would offer tax credits to help families pay for their insurance, but he would pay for these credits by taxing employer-paid health care benefits. Earlier this week Obama launched an attack on presidential rival John McCain’s health care proposal saying the plan would bring higher taxes for working families.

“It’s a shell game. He gives you a tax credit with one hand - but he raises your taxes with the other,” Obama said, citing a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation that showed the average cost of a family health care plan is more than $12,000. Under McCain plan, tax credits that will be given to Americans in order to help them pay for insurance will be a $2,500 credit for individuals and a $5,000 credit for families.

Obama said that under McCain’s plan, younger, healthier workers would buy cheaper insurance outside the workplace and many employers will drop their health care plans altogether.

As for Obama’s plan, it is based on the idea of expanding government health care. He plans to create a national insurance program to support individuals who do not have employer-provided health care and who don’t meet the criteria for the existing federal programs. He would also modernize the current system of employer- and government-provided health care. Critics say that his plan would give the government an unfair and undesired advantage over private insurers.

Polls show voters favour Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential contest, with health care as one of the most important issues for voters. A survey carried out by the Harvard Public Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harris Interactive found that 33% favored Obama’s health care plan, while only 27% said John McCain’s plan was better.