The End of Private Health Insurance

Posted By: Dan Hughes

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Above every other health-care goal, Democrats this year want to institute a "public option" -- an insurance program financed by taxpayers, managed by government and open to everyone, much like Medicare. This new middle-class entitlement is the most important debate in Congress this year, because it really is the last stand for anything resembling private health insurance.

This public option will supposedly "compete" with private alternatives. As President Obama likes to put it, those who are happy with the insurance they have now can keep it -- and if they happen to prefer the government offering, well, gee whiz, that's the free market at work. The reality is far different. Not only will the new program become the default coverage for the uninsured, but Democrats intend to game the system to precipitate -- or if need be, coerce -- an exodus to government from private insurance. Soon enough, that will be the only "option" left.

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What Obama's Health Care Plan Means for You

Posted By Michael Collins

Successful health care reform eluded both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It could be argued that one tried a bit harder at it than the other, but there's little question that the issue will command a significant amount of Barack Obama's attention after he's sworn into office--in large part because the people who elected him care so much about it.

Though 62% of voters ranked the economy as their chief concern, according to exit polls conducted Tuesday by the Associated Press and major television networks, 9% of voters listed health care as a primary concern. That trailed the number of voters worried about Iraq by only 1% and tied the percentage of those troubled by terrorism.

In Depth: Obama's Health Care Plan

Though some experts don't expect to see major changes until 2010, Obama's proposal has set the tone for a debate about how to cut rising costs while providing insurance to 45 million Americans. While certain elements of Obama's proposal could be modified, at its core are principles that would change health care delivery and coverage in the U.S.

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Obama Will Ease Restraints on States’ Health Insurance Programs for Children

- By Kevin Yu

WASHINGTON — Within days of taking office, President-elect Barack Obama will rescind a Bush administration policy that has impeded state efforts to provide health insurance to children from low- and middle-income families, aides and advisers said Monday.

Skip to next paragraphThe policy, issued in August 2007, is one of many that the new administration hopes to change or withdraw in its first weeks in office.
Some of the policies may take more time to revise because they are in regulations that have already taken effect and have the force of law.

Mr. Obama has said, for example, that he objects to a last-minute Bush administration rule that grants sweeping new protections to health workers who refuse to help perform abortions, dispense contraceptives or provide other care because of their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

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