Dueling Health Plans

This week Senator Clinton (D-NY) announced her new approach to health care, report Patrick Healy and Robin Toner in The New York Times. Trying to avoid the fate of Hillary 1.0, version 2.0 is called “The American Health Choices Plan.”  As Healy and Toner put it:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton unveiled a plan on Monday to guarantee health insurance to all Americans, but in a way carefully designed to avoid the political flaws in her failed proposal of 1993-94.

 Not so coincidentally, Karl Rove wrote up his Rx for health care on the Wall Street Journal edit page.  Conservatives can win against Clinton’s “government-heavy” plan, he insists:

Conservatives must put forward reforms aimed at putting the patient in charge. Increasing competition will ensure greater access, lower costs and more innovation.

In case the Republican presidential candidates didn’t get the point, he proceeded to map out a seven point plan.  Call it Rove 2.0.

Well. It is clear that Clinton’s plan is a lot less disruptive than the last one.  But it will increase government control and mandates.  And by expanding “Medicare, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program,” as Jacob Laksin points out, it will also increase the number of people with their health care subsidized by government.

There is one thing all Americans are agreed upon.  We want good quality health care.  But we quail at the idea of paying for it.

There are two approaches to health provision.  One approach is the pre-paid one, that wants all health care provided from a monthly payment.  Obviously, this approach must involve some sort of rationing.  Liberals and Democrats are in favor of this.

The other approach is self-financing.  You pay for your health care and protect your assets with a high-deductible insurance policy.  Conservatives and Republicans prefer this.

In the middle, of course, is the great mass of Americans.  These Americans just want health care when they need it.  And if Hillary Clinton proposes to make someone else pay for it, what’s not to like?