Thanks to Marjorie for putting me on to the difference among Hilary, Edwards, & Obama's proposals for "universal" health care.
- Hilary says - everyone buys it. That is, everyone's FORCED to buy it.
- Edwards says - everyone buys it OR is automatically signed up for Medicare/S-Chip, etc. (and sics collection agencies on families who can't afford to pay for the services they receive)
- Obama says - individuals aren't forced to be covered; children are. Not real clear on how to collect the money, though.
Slate has a great article examining how that would really work, and who it would hurt in the process. It argues that until the govt. can pick up the tab for people who, as Marjorie says, don't have health insurance because they can't afford health insurance, the idea of the government forcing people to buy something that you can't opt-out of (like refusing to drive so that you don't have to insure your car) is simply unprecedented.
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