There’s been a concerted, and apparently nationwide, effort by the campaign of presidential candidate Barack Obama to focus attention on the health care reform plan offered by Republican nominee John McCain.

In Mankato, Obama was represented by state Sen. Kathy Sheran of Mankato and state House Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Paul Thissen of Minneapolis. The two Democrats said Obama’s plan is similar to proposals developed by a bipartisan group of stakeholders in Minnesota while McCain’s plan is a radical deregulation of the current health care system.

“This is an issue that’s truly a defining difference (between the presidential contenders),” Thissen said.

They focused on estimates by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., research group with liberal leanings, that the McCain plan would cause 20 million Americans to lose their employer-provided health insurance — extrapolating that 418,000 Minnesotans would face that fate. Thissen and Sheran also suggested that regulatory protections for patients passed by Minnesota and other states might be eliminated if McCain’s plan is enacted.

The McCain campaign in Minnesota responded with a conference call featuring a Minnesota doctor who supports the Republican’s plan.

The proposal eliminates the provision in the tax code that excludes the value of employer-provided health insurance from taxable income. But in return, McCain would provide a $2,500 tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to use for paying the costs of health insurance.

The McCain campaign says his plan frees up families to make the decision about what sort of insurance coverage they want.

Those looking for more information on the two candidates’ proposals can check out a compilation of news stories and opinion pieces at the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site:

kaisernetwork.org

Chet Edwards for Walz
The Texas congressman who represents President Bush in the U.S. House — or at least President Bush’s Crawford ranch — will be campaigning with Congressman Tim Walz today in Mankato.

Rep. Chet Edwards, the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds veterans programs, will talk about veterans issues with Walz at 6 p.m. at the Morson-Ario VFW, 1900 N. Riverfront Drive.

The event is one of three in the 1st District that will kick off the formation of a Veterans for Walz organization. Walz, DFL-Mankato, is a veteran of the Minnesota National Guard and serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Barkley visits Saturday
South-central Minnesotans will have a chance to spend some time with Independence Party Senate candidate Dean Barkley on Saturday — which could be one of the biggest days of his campaign against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken.