In the meantime.........

I reread the pdf. Read the appendices.
Then I read again.

At one point it states that "Under the Kerry plan, private insurance premiums would
fall by an aggregate 10-year total of $773.9 billion."
Later it says "When the
effects of this rebate are included, the total effect of the Kerry plan on private insurance
premiums is a reduction in spending of about $773.9 billion over the 2006 through 2015 period."

Think I read that last one the wrong way last time.

OTOH,
Since the poor insurance companies don't have to shell out for the highest risk customers, how much do they save?

The more I read it, the less I liked both plans.
Bush's is a drop in the bucket proposal.
Kerry's seems more full of loopholes than your average billionaire's tax return.
Would need a lot of tightening up to prevent being taken advantage off by both employers and insurance companies. It is ambitious, though I don't like the price tag.

BTW, got any good links on how much the US govt pays as % of GDP on healthcare?
I've been looking and cant find it.