Elizabeth Edwards calls Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health care plan a "perfect storm" for working families.

Edwards spoke out against McCain's plan to deregulate the insurance industry and give families a tax break to pay for care at an event Tuesday at the Virginia Capitol. She says the plan would backfire, resulting in lost care for more than 580,000 Virginians.

Edwards spoke as senior fellow of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, so she was careful not to endorse Democrat Barack Obama's plan for universal health care.

Edwards has incurable breast cancer. She only recently began to speak publicly following the revelation this summer that her husband, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, had an extramarital affair.