Collateral Damage

Is Health Care Reform Another Victim of Wall Street's Madness?

By Mike Lillis 10/13/08 6:00 AM

Health-care reform — an expensive and politically thorny proposition in any environment — could be particularly tough in the face of a plunging economy.

Yet to hear the candidates tell it, the next president will usher in an era of sweeping changes. Both Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are pushing overhauls of the health-care system that purport to save families thousands of dollars while covering millions of the uninsured. Some estimates put the cost of their plans in the trillions of dollars. Neither candidate has said specifically how he would pay the tab.