Obama unveils his “universal” health care plan

Barack Obama has become the second candidate to outline a specific health care plan, behind fellow Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards. The Obama plan aims to provide subsidies to Americans who cannot afford insurance on their own, with the subsidy amount dependent on income. While Obama’s plan is to make health care affordable for all Americans, whether or not it is “universal” is still in question. Merely making health care affordable is no guarantee that everyone will buy it, even with a subsidy. In contrast, the Edwards plan makes health insurance a requirement, much like auto insurance is a requirement drivers. At the moment the Obama proposal does not go that far but he has pledged to reevaluate in a year or two and revise the plan if some Americans are still without coverage. According to the article,

Obama’s first promise as a presidential candidate was that he would sign a universal health care plan into law by the end of his firm term in the White House.

-Ben