Republican John McCain wants to change how people get their health insurance, shifting away from job-based coverage to an open market where people can choose from competing policies.

McCain said Tuesday he would offer families a $5,000 tax credit to help buy insurance policies. Everyone would get the credit, whether he or she keeps a policy through an employer or shops for a new one. "You simply choose the insurance provider that suits you best," McCain said in a speech Tuesday at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Fla.

Still missing: 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. An adviser said that specifics will come later.

KENTUCKY CONGRESSMAN

SUPPORTS OBAMA

Rep. Ben Chandler, who carries a famous Kentucky political name, endorsed fellow Democrat Barack Obama for their party's presidential nomination.

Chandler told a group of Obama supporters in Louisville that he was swayed by the Illinois senator's message of "change and hope." The congressman said he's impressed by Obama's ideas and his "quiet strength." The endorsement gives Obama the support of Kentucky's two Democratic congressmen leading into the state's May 20 primary.

CAMPAIGN SOURING DEMOCRATS

ON RIVAL CANDIDATES

Democratic Party members increasingly dislike the presidential contender they are not supporting in the bruising nomination fight between Hillary Clinton and Obama, an Associated Press-Yahoo News survey and exit polls of voters show. That is raising questions about how faithful some will be by the November general election.

In the AP-Yahoo poll -- which has tracked the same 2,000 people since November -- Obama supporters with negative views of the New York senator have grown from 35 percent in November to 44 percent this month, including one-quarter with very unfavorable feelings.

Those Obama backers who don't like Clinton say they would vote for McCain over her by a 2-to-1 ratio, with many undecided.

As for Clinton supporters, those with unfavorable views of Obama have grown from 26 percent to 42 percent during this same period.

The Clinton backers with unfavorable views of Obama say they would vote for McCain over him by nearly 3-to-1, though many haven't made up their minds.

TOP MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS

SUGGEST SPLITTING DELEGATES

Michigan Democrats working to get the state's delegates seated at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday suggested splitting them 69-59 between presidential candidates Clinton and Obama.

The DNC stripped Florida and Michigan of their convention delegates for holding their primary elections too early in the nominating process.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"There's been lots of 'Yes we can, yes we should.' Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver." -- North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, in announcing his support for Clinton.

STAT OF THE DAY:

Forty-four percent of the Democratic-leaning respondents in an AP-Ipsos poll said the protracted Democratic presidential primary will hurt their party's chances in November; more supporters of Obama than backers of Clinton said they had that fear.

The Associated Press