U.S. Chamber chilly toward McCain plan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. business interests are only quiet supporters of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's healthcare plan, trade groups say.

The Arizona senator has proposed to overhaul the nation's health care system by changing the way health benefits are taxed by eliminating the exclusion of health benefits from income taxes, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Business predicted that the McCain plan would accelerate the erosion of employer-sponsored health insurance and do little to reduce the number of uninsured from 45 million.

"To some in the business community, this is very discomforting," said R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the Chamber of Commerce. "The private marketplace, in my opinion, is ill prepared today with an infrastructure for an individual-based health insurance system."

Proponents of McCain's plan say it could provide coverage to 25 million people, while critics predict that the number of newly insured would peak at 5 million and then decline.