Clinton unveils healthcare reform plan
DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is unveiling a sweeping healthcare reform proposal today that would require every American to carry health insurance and would offer federal subsidies to help reduce the cost of coverage.
With a price tag of about $110 billion per year, Clinton's "American Health Choices Plan" represents her first major effort to achieve universal health coverage since 1994, when the plan she developed during her husband's first term collapsed.
The former first lady says she has learned from that experience, which almost derailed Bill Clinton's presidency and helped put Republicans in control of Congress for years to come. Aides say she has jettisoned the complexity and uncertainty of the last effort in favor of a plan that stresses simplicity, cost control, and consumer choice.
The centerpiece of Clinton's plan is what's called the "individual mandate," requiring everyone to have health insurance - similar to what Massachusetts has started to implement. Rival John Edwards has also offered a plan that includes an individual mandate, while the proposal outlined by Barack Obama does not.
"It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs," Neera Tanden, Clinton's top policy adviser, told the Associated Press. "If you like the plan you have, you keep it. If you're one of tens of millions of Americans without coverage or don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and you'll get tax credits to help pay for it."
Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has laid out proposals to improve healthcare quality and reduce costs. She was expected to release her universal healthcare plan in Iowa, the first voting state.
With 47 million Americans uninsured, the Democratic presidential contenders have been united in advocating universal coverage. They have parted ways on certain specifics, including the individual mandate, which has detractors from both ends of the political spectrum.
Republican skeptics say it would be too invasive and would restrict personal freedom and choice. Liberal Democrats have expressed concern that such a mandate would be too financially burdensome for lower-income individuals and families - a concern shared by Obama, who has said individuals cannot be forced to purchase insurance until the cost is substantially reduced.
Aides said Clinton believes that an individual mandate is the only way to achieve healthcare for all. A key component of her plan would be a federal tax subsidy to help individuals pay for coverage.
Clinton's plan builds on the employer-based system of coverage. People who receive insurance through the workplace could continue to do so; businesses, in turn, would be required to offer insurance to employees or contribute to a government-run pool that would help pay for those not covered. Clinton would also offer a tax subsidy to small businesses to help them afford the cost. 