Adwatch: McCain runs ad touting his health insurance plan

TITLE: "Health Care Action."

LENGTH: 60 seconds.

AIRING: Iowa.

SCRIPT: McCain: "The problem with health care in America is not the quality of health care, it's the availability and the affordability. And that has to do with the dramatic increase in the cost of health care.

"Let's give every American family a $5,000 refundable tax credit so that they can go out across state lines and get the insurance policy that suits them best.

"I can characterize my approach on health care by choice and competition, affordability and availability.

"We need community health centers. We need walk-in clinics. We understand that emergency room care is the most expensive in America.

"There's many, many solutions to this problem. I think we can address them. The fundamental problem is not the quality of health care; it's the cost of health care. So health care must be made affordable and available.

"I'm John McCain, and I approve this message."

KEY IMAGES: McCain talks to an off-camera interviewer; messages like "Straight Talk on Healthcare," and "Choice and Competition" flash across the screen.

THE SPIN: McCain makes a straightforward case that his market-oriented strategy will make health care cheaper and more available.

ANALYSIS: Even McCain acknowledges it could take years to create enough competition to make it affordable for people to leave employer plans for private health insurance plans.

He also recognizes the fear raised by critics that older, sicker workers could be left with soaring premiums as young and healthy people leave employer plans for newer, cheaper plans.

McCain insists that he would set up a safety net for those high-risk workers. He said Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., that he would encourage state governments to create guaranteed-access plans.

McCain has talked about his plan for several months but is spending the week talking about health care. Still missing are details on the total cost of the plan and an estimate of how many people it would help.

There are more than 40 million people in the United States who don't have health insurance.

McCain chose to run the ad in Iowa — where he came in fourth in the January presidential caucuses — because it is a general election battleground state, and he plans to visit Des Moines on Thursday.

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Analysis by Associated Press writer Libby Quaid.