Much of the criticism of Clinton's proposal from the right has
thus far focused on the individual mandates and employer mandates,
but another aspect of the plan that should concern conservatives
that has gotten less attention is her promise to offer Americans a new "public plan
option similar to Medicare." Given the drastic expansion of
Medicare and Medicaid from their original purpose over the past 40
years, conservatives should be very suspicious about this
particular feature of her proposal.
While her plan is not technically "socialist" in that it
maintains the private insurance market, it would create so many new
regulations that it's hard to imagine how one would design a better
plan if the goal were to drive private insurers out of business.
Her plan requires that insurers offer people health insurance at a
price that is deemed "affordable" regardless of pre-existing
conditions or risk factors. Clinton, of course, argues that she
isn't trying to drive these companies out of business, but imagine
if the government required all banks to offer low insurance rates
to people with long records of defaulting on loans.
So, while the plan is not socialist in the technical sense, it
could easily pave the way to a socialist, single-payer system over
time, as private insurers go out of business and get replaced by
ever-expanding government programs.
topics:
Business, Medicaid, Medicare
