Obama: McCain's health care plan is an "old Washington bait and ...

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"So when you read the fine print, it's clear that John McCainis pulling an old Washington bait and switch. It's a shell game. Hegives you a tax credit with one hand but raises your taxes with theother," Obama said. Watch more of Obama's comments
A $5,000 tax credit sounds pretty good, Obama said. "WhatMcCain doesn't tell you is, the average cost of a family healthcare plan these days is more than twice that much: $12,680. Sowhere would that leave you? Broke."
McCain has said he would reform the tax code to offer choices beyondemployee-based health insurance coverage.
McCain's campaign Web site states, "Families should be able topurchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines, and theirpolicy should follow them from job to job."
Obama's plan, meanwhile, would create a national health insuranceprogram for individuals who do not have employer-provided healthcare and who do not qualify for other existing federal programs.The plan does not mandate individual coverage for all Americans butrequires coverage for all children and allows individuals youngerthan 25 to be covered through their parents' plans.
The plan also allows individuals to choose between the new publicinsurance program and private insurance plans that meet certaincoverage standards.
The Obama campaign Web site says the coverage would have benefitssimilar to those offered to Congress through the Federal EmployeesBenefits Program. The plan would expand eligibility for Medicaidand State's Children's Health Insurance Program.
Obama estimates the cost at between $50 billion and $65 billion, tobe paid for by eliminating President Bush's tax cuts for thoseearning more than $250,000.
Obama said that the solution is to "take on drug and insurancecompanies, modernize our health care system for the 21st century,reduce costs for families and businesses and finally provideaffordable, accessible health care for every American."
Obama also compared McCain's health care plan to deregulation of thebanking industry, referring to the condoning crisis plaguing thecountry ant Congress' recent $700 billion bailout of the bankingindustry.
"His plan calls for massive deregulation of the insuranceindustry that would leave families without the basic protectionsyou rely on," Obama said. "He wants to deregulate theinsurance industry just like he fought to deregulate the bankingindustry. And we've seen how well that worked out."
During the vice presidential debate October 2, Joe Biden describedMcCain as a longtime supporter of deregulation of the bankingindustry.
"As a matter of fact, John recently wrote an article in amajor magazine saying that what he wants to do for the health careindustry [is] deregulate it and let the free market move like hedid for the banking industry."
In Congress, McCain has frequently supported deregulation. Someaspects of that deregulation are now widely blamed for the problemson Wall Street.
In the current issue of a magazine for the American Academy ofActuaries, McCain discussed a change he wants to bring to thehealth care market: allowing people to buy plans across statelines.
"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorousnationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade inbanking, would provide more choices of innovative products lessburdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation," hewrote in Contingencies magazine.
Biden and Obama have pointed to the first part of that quote tobolster their argument that McCain wants to see the health careindustry undergo the same changes as the banking industry.
But the reform McCain wants for health care -- state deregulation-- is only one of several types of deregulation that reshaped thebanking industry. McCain has not proposed reshaping the health careindustry in all the same ways as banks.