Choose a health-care plan and stick to it. Your options: the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Barack Obama’s one or the plan drawn by his counter-candidate, GOP’s nominee for president of the United States John McCain.

They both aim at achieving two things: first of all, reforming the current U.S. health-care system. Secondly and also more importantly, making health insurance affordable to as many Americans as possible.

Barack Obama’s views on changing the system focus on expanding access to Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), as well as rendering health insurance compulsory for children. Medicaid is a states and federal government-funded United States health program for low-income American citizens, while SCHIP is a U.S. federal government program aimed at providing coverage for uninsured children who come from families that are not eligible for Medicaid.

Moreover, the junior United States Senator from Illinois plans to require companies that choose not to offer their employees health insurance to contribute to a fund for the uninsured.

His opponent John McCain, on the other hand, wants to provide all Americans with a refundable tax credit of $5,000 per family and $2,500 for individuals to help them afford health coverage. In addition, he has stated he would allow people to purchase insurance across state lines.

Nonpartisan health-policy analysis and consulting firm Lewin Group has estimated that the plan drawn by senior United States Senator from Arizona would render premium payments for families to go up by $379, while Obama’s health-care plan would decrease these premiums by $185.

Furthermore, the Group has reckoned the number of uninsured Americans would go from a current 48.9 million to 26.6 million in 2010 by virtue of the Democrat’s reforms, while McCain’s proposals would reduce that number by 21.1 million.