New Hampshire ? Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday offered a consumer-oriented solution to the nation’s health care woes that relies on giving individuals tax credits to purchase private insurance.

Critical to Giuliani’s plan is a $15,000 tax deduction for families to buy private health insurance, instead of getting insurance through employers. Any leftover funds could be rolled over year-to-year for medical expenses.

Campaigning in this first primary state, Giuliani said his goal is to give individuals more control over their health care.

The former New York mayor said as more people buy plans, insurers will drop their prices, making insurance affordable to those who lack it now.

Giuliani offered the broad outline of his plan but his campaign did not provide many specifics. Asked how much his plan would cost and how many of the people without insurance it would help, Giuliani said he wouldn’t have those answers for two or three months.