Health Care for America Now gave enthusiastic approval to Democrat Barack Obama and sharply criticized his presidential rival John McCain and seven other Republicans.

The reform group has just launched an approximately $5 million TV ad focused on Arizona Sen. John McCain’s health care progressive plan, an ad campaign that is due to run for the coming two weeks on radio and TV, as well as in junk mail and phone calls.

McCain’s proposal aims at eliminating the employer exclusion. This way, the health care reform plan will dispose of tax breaks on employer-sponsored healthcare benefits and, in return, tax credits will be given to American people in order to help them pay for insurance - a $2,500 credit for individuals and a $5,000 credit for families, paid directly to the insurer they decide on. Moreover, under McCain’s proposal, customers will have the possibility to opt for an appropriate insurance plan, one that would match their stage of life.

With less than one month to go before the U.S. presidential campaign, Obama launched an attack on his rival’s health care progressive plan.

What Republican McCain wants is to make more and more people get away from the employer-based health care system and to attract more into individual health-care plans, whereas Democrat Obama’s strategic aims to attracting more people into employer-based health care.

According to Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager, Health Care for America Now, “it is urgent that voters know where the candidates stand on health care.”