McCain calls for healthcare competition

TAMPA, Fla., April 29 (UPI) -- Republican U.S. presidential hopeful John McCain called Tuesday for greater competition among health insurers to help drive down costs.

McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, said consumers should have more choices when it comes to insurance plans and that he would like to see fewer employer-based plans.

"Americans need new choices beyond those offered in employment-based coverage. Americans want a system built so that wherever you go and wherever you work, your health plan goes with you," McCain told an audience at the University of South Florida's Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

The Arizona senator is proposing a tax credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families that could be used to leave an employer-based plan and purchase less expensive insurance.

"Insurance companies could no longer take your business for granted, offering narrow plans with escalating costs. It would help change the whole dynamic of the current system, putting individuals and families back in charge, and forcing companies to respond with better service at lower cost," McCain said.

McCain said plans by his Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, are proposing a "big-government" solution by advocating universal healthcare.