The two candidates for United States president have long turned in their essays on reforming the nation’s health-care system to the evaluators, the American citizens with the right to vote in the upcoming elections, which are scheduled for November 4 this year.

Both Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s nominee, and John McCain, the GOP’s one, have made public their health-care plans during the presidential campaigns, the two propositions having stirred up many debates these past couple of months.

The junior United States Senator from Illinois has centered his plan on several major issues such as child insurance, employer-based health-care plans and the government’s social programs Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Consequently, he has stated he would require that all children got health-insurance and that medium and large companies provided their employees with health benefits. Moreover, he would expand the U.S. health program for individuals and families with low incomes (Medicaid), as well as the nation’s federal government program that provides health insurance to families with children (SCHIP) who don’t qualify for Medicaid, in order to make health insurance affordable to as many Americans as possible.

His counter-candidate, senior United States Senator from Arizona John McCain, has revealed that his plan entailed offering refundable tax credits of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families so that people could purchase health-insurance. In addition, he would allow insurance providers to sell their services across state lines and would also encourage Americans to seek coverage outside employment.

Furthermore, McCain aims at gradually reducing Medicare premiums, in order to maintain his plan budget-neutral over the following ten years.