Difference between revisions of "Democratic Health Care Plans"
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Health care constitutes one-seventh of the economy, and there are 47 million uninsured residents of America. But many of those are uninsured by choice, or uninsured temporarily. The real [[liberal]] motivation to change health care, which was the first priority of [[Hillary Clinton]] when her president took office back in 1993, is to effect social change. [[Abortion]] and the [[homosexual agenda]] can be advanced under the banner of health care reform in a way that would never pass otherwise. | Health care constitutes one-seventh of the economy, and there are 47 million uninsured residents of America. But many of those are uninsured by choice, or uninsured temporarily. The real [[liberal]] motivation to change health care, which was the first priority of [[Hillary Clinton]] when her president took office back in 1993, is to effect social change. [[Abortion]] and the [[homosexual agenda]] can be advanced under the banner of health care reform in a way that would never pass otherwise. | ||
| − | None of the plans are expected to be "single payer," at least not initially and publicly so. "Top Democrats who will be deciding policy in America in 2009, including Baucus and President-elect Barack Obama, say single-payer is 'not politically feasible,' because the public won't strongly support it."<ref>http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/12/03/state/80st_081203_column.txt</ref> | + | None of the plans are expected to be "single payer," at least not initially and publicly so. "[T]his option has been declared 'off the table' by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who's among those leading the charge for health-care reform in America. Top Democrats who will be deciding policy in America in 2009, including Baucus and President-elect Barack Obama, say single-payer is 'not politically feasible,' because the public won't strongly support it."<ref name="Single Payer">http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/12/03/state/80st_081203_column.txt</ref> The biggest supporter of "single payer" was Michigan Democrat John Conyers,<ref name="Single Payer"/> but he lost a key committee chairmanship for the new Congress in 2009. |
Each of the Democratic plans is summarized below. | Each of the Democratic plans is summarized below. | ||
Revision as of 03:09, December 4, 2008
There are four competing Democratic approaches to increasing government control over health care:
All four plans include more spending and potentially reduced access by patients to treatment. Commentators are predicting quick action by the Democratic Congress and Presidency in 2009 on this.[1]
Health care constitutes one-seventh of the economy, and there are 47 million uninsured residents of America. But many of those are uninsured by choice, or uninsured temporarily. The real liberal motivation to change health care, which was the first priority of Hillary Clinton when her president took office back in 1993, is to effect social change. Abortion and the homosexual agenda can be advanced under the banner of health care reform in a way that would never pass otherwise.
None of the plans are expected to be "single payer," at least not initially and publicly so. "[T]his option has been declared 'off the table' by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who's among those leading the charge for health-care reform in America. Top Democrats who will be deciding policy in America in 2009, including Baucus and President-elect Barack Obama, say single-payer is 'not politically feasible,' because the public won't strongly support it."[2] The biggest supporter of "single payer" was Michigan Democrat John Conyers,[2] but he lost a key committee chairmanship for the new Congress in 2009.
Each of the Democratic plans is summarized below.
Ted Kennedy's Plan
Ted Kennedy has withheld details of his plan from the public, perhaps to avoid a build-up of criticism about it. But his staff has met with interest groups in 2008 and it is expected that Kennedy's plan will be similar to the Massachusetts Plan. Kennedy's plan will likely include taxpayer-funded abortion by requiring that insurance carriers cover abortion, and requiring or using the tax incentives and penalties to include participation by taxpayers.
Tom Daschle's Plan
Tom Daschle, the former Senate Majority Leader who later became a health care lobbyist,[3] as did his wife, set forth his plan in a book entitled ...
Max Baucus's Plan
Barack Obama's Plan
Barack Obama did not support universal coverage during the campaign, to contrast his approach with that of Hillary Clinton. It is doubtful that this issue is a priority for him in 2009.