Democrat Sen. Barack Obama's plan, estimated to cost taxpayers $50 billion to $65 billion a year, will save businesses $140 billion a year through a reinsurance pool, wherein the government will pay for certain costly health care bills, so long as the savings are passed on to the company's employees.

Also, his plan states, overall costs would go down with investment in online medical records that would reduce administrative costs, and other health care system changes.

With all Americans insured under Obama's plan, the cost of the uninsured would no longer be passed along to consumers.

To grasp the cost of uninsured, a few hospital executives have told me in the past that they write off tens of millions of dollars annually for indigent care.

Small businesses could qualify for subsidies to buy into the public health plan that government employees and members of Congress currently receive.

"We'll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year," Obama said in a speech at a town-hall meeting in Bristol, Va. "We'll do it by investing in disease prevention, not just disease management; by investing in a paperless health care system to reduce administrative costs; and by covering every single American and making sure that they can take their health care with them if they lose their job.

"We'll also reduce costs for business and their workers by picking up the tab for some of the most expensive illnesses. And we won't do all this 20 years from now, or 10 years from now. We'll do it by the end of my first term as president."

While Obama proposes expanding and reforming the health care system already in place, Republican Sen. John McCain seeks to institute a refundable tax credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance.

McCain's proposed health care policy closely mirrors that of President Bush, who failed this year to institute tax incentives to individuals and families who buy health insurance.

He's proposing major deregulation of the health insurance industry to allow consumers to buy insurance across state borders and diminish the role of state insurance commissioners.

McCain is promoting his plan to offer tax incentives to primarily employer-funded health care system. That system in 2006 insured 59.7 percent of people in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau.

With the refundable tax credits advocated by McCain, people would have the option to place them into a health savings account to help pay medical bills.

"I believe that the best way to help small businesses and employers afford health care is not to increase government control of health care, but to bring the rising cost of care under control and give people the option of having personal, portable health insurance," McCain said in a speech to the National Federation of Independent Business' Small-Business Summit on June 10, posted on his Web site. "We're going to offer every individual and family in America a large tax credit to buy their health care, so that their health insurance is theirs to keep even when they move or change jobs. My plan would allow those who want to stick with employer-provided health insurance to do so. But I want to give individuals greater choice, rather than give small business no choice at all."