Democrats

Health Care Reform Proposals from The Democratic Presidential Candidates

Presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama described the democrats' health care proposals well when he spoke in Ames, Iowa. From an editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Hillary Clinton has come out with a health plan that's just like mine. [But] I'll be honest with you, [the democrats' plans] are all pretty similar."

The wife of Former Senator John Edwards, Elizabeth, was quoted in the CNN Political Ticker:

"I call [Clinton's health care proposal] John Edwards' health care plan as delivered by Hillary Clinton. The truth is that anyone who tries to describe Hillary's health care plan will run through every material part of John's health care plan."

These happen to be both attacks on the health care proposal from New York Senator Hillary Clinton, but that's only because she's the front-runner in the democratic primary.

Increasing Government's Role in Health Care

The reality is that the top three democratic candidates' have similar health care proposals. They all have the goal of providing insurance for every American. They all want to roll-back President Bush's tax cuts for higher-earning Americans. They all want to make it easier for lower-income citizens to get government help to obtain coverage. They all want to increase the government's role in health care.

Comparing The Democrats' Proposals

Even though each plan's main goals are similar, there are some key differences between the leading candidates' proposals.

Clinton's plan emphasizes that it won't create any new government agencies or "bureaucracies." Edwards' plan would create a new health insurance agency that will over time eliminate private health insurance. The biggest difference between their plans and what Barack Obama proposes is cost. Obama's plan would cost roughly half as much as what Edwards and Clinton propose.

Here's the breakdown of how much each health care proposal would cost per year:

• Senator Obama's plan would cost around $50 billion.

• Senator Clinton's plan would cost $110 billion.

• Former Senator Edwards' plan would cost between $90 and $120 billion.

Democrats Vs. Republicans

All of the leading democratic presidential candidates are looking to take the U.S. health care system in a different direction. This is a major point of difference between the Democrats and their opponents in the G.O.P. — the Republican candidates believe the health care system can be changed with free market reforms, not government spending.

When the nominees from both parties are chosen and the General Election campaigns begin, expect the health care debate to come down to universal coverage (the Democratic position) versus free market reform (the Republican position).

Sources

Edwards Details His Health Care Proposal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/us/politics/06edwards.html

Obama revises plan on tax cuts
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071001/NATION/110010063/1001

Wary of Past, Clinton Unveils a Health Plan
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/us/politics/18clinton.html

Edwards Proposes Raising Capital Gains Tax

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/27/us/politics/27edwards.html

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