This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, February 25th, 2008.

I'm Caleb Brown.

In an otherwise depressing campaign season, there is perhaps one reason to cheer for a McCain- Obama

match-up come November. They're both asking the right questions about health care.

So says the Cato Institute's Director of Health and Welfare Studies, Michael Tanner.

The possibility that John McCain and Barack Obama will be the nominees,

marks a subtle but important shift in the health care debate.

For a long time, the debate over health care reform

has centered almost exclusively around the idea of

universal coverage. Can we get every single American with health

insurance as Hillary Clinton still raises in her battle cry? But both Barack Obama and John McCain seem to be putting a greater

emphasis on cost and the idea that you get more people covered if you can get other things right,

primarily if you can reduce the cost of health care and reduce the amount the US spends on health

care, then we can get more people to be able to buy insurance.

And at that level, they both have it to that extent.

Now, what about their solution?

Well, they differ quite a bit in terms of how they would reduce costs.

Not surprisingly, Barack Obama tends to take a very heavy-handed government solution.

He would impose premium caps on insurers. he would have price controls on pharmaceuticals,

he would have a host of regulations designed to try to force down costs, a practice guidelines

to try to tell doctors what's the most efficient way to practice medicine.

Essentially he would believe in sort of a command and control style of cost reduction.

...