It's worse. They don't admit that these plans as I understand them provide for subsidization so the argument is false on its face. But that's rather the point. They can't win on a straight up and down comparison of what the plans actually say.
One of the problems, though, is that it's not precisely clear how much of the costs will be subsidized and how substantially Clinton will be able to reduce premiums. Clinton has not been able to say exactly what a person who makes, say, $50,000/year will be paying for health insurance. That's because the actual amount will depend on so many complex matters like how the insurance is underwritten (premiums, deductibles, copayments, etc.), the ability of Clinton's plan to lower costs, and exactly how substantial the subsidy would be for a given person.
As a result, until Clinton provides assurances of affordability, it's disingenious to speak so confidently about her plan's universality. Moreover, without specific information about costs, it's difficult to evaluate whether the burden associated with a mandate is fair. If insurance is going to cost someone $1000/year, that is far different than $5000/year. I might not oppose a mandate in the case of the former, but I certainly would in the latter. Adding $5000 per year as a state-imposed burden (which is effectively like a tax) would be very big deal to your average middle-class person--certainly, more than it would be for a wealthy person. That raises serious fairness issues, as well.
This post does a good job of describing the problem.
http://sentineleffect.wordpress.com/2007 11/28/even-more-on-mandates-and-the-80- solution
Mandates may ultimately be an appropriate thing to do (although, I'm skeptical), but first we need to make put the plan to work without mandates so that we can evaluate feasibility and cost considerations.
Also, mandates are not going to be popular at all in a general election. I'm convinced at this point that single-payer is more palatable to the average voter than hybrid approaches involving mandates.
What exactly makes you think that Obama's plan will be any cheaper? In fact, by insuring only sicker people (with younger, healthier population opting out), it will be even more expensive and therefore further away from achieving true universal health care.
I never said his plan would be cheaper. I just said that mandates shouldn't be implemented until we can be certain that the burden imposed is affordable and fair. Presently, I see single-payer as the only fair way to ensure that everyone is covered. That is, the only progressive way to finance social insurance like this is through normal income tax collection; otherwise, the distributive burden is going to be regressive (at least partially).
THe problem is that the benefits will be hard to come by without eliminating issues like free riders from the mix. In other words, the very things you are requiring much like the conservatives approach to such discussions will help guarantee failure.
She does say that it will be capped at a percentage of income....
She doesn't say what the percentage will be, but since she does acknowledge a realistic view of the current cost of insurance, I'm hoping the percentage cap would also be realistic.
In contrast, my Congressman thinks a $600 tax credit would help the situation which I think is a laugh, not a plan.
From page 9 of her plan.
The average family premium for employer-based coverage (including employer and employee contributions) is over $12,000.ix For half of Americans, this total premium accounts for at least one-fourth of their annual income.x This helps explain why two-thirds of the uninsured have incomes below 200 percent of the poverty limit (roughly $40,000 per year for a family of four). (snip) The American Health Choices Plan will make health insurance more affordable for the millions of Americans who want it. It includes a number of straightforward policies to achieve this end: 1) Ensuring Premium Affordability Through Refundable Tax Credits: Premiums have skyrocketed over the last several years - nearly double since 2000. The American Health Choices Plan helps working families afford coverage through refundable, income-related tax credits to ensure that accessible, high-quality health coverage is affordable to all. 2) Limiting Premium Payments to a Percentage of Income: This credit will ensure that securing quality health care is never a crushing burden for any working family. This guarantee will be achieved through a premium affordability tax credit that ensures that health premiums never rise above a certain percentage of family income. The tax credit will be indexed over time, and designed to maintain consumer price consciousness in choosing health plans, even for those who reach the percentage of income limit.
(snip)
The American Health Choices Plan will make health insurance more affordable for the millions of Americans who want it. It includes a number of straightforward policies to achieve this end:
1) Ensuring Premium Affordability Through Refundable Tax Credits: Premiums have skyrocketed over the last several years - nearly double since 2000. The American Health Choices Plan helps working families afford coverage through refundable, income-related tax credits to ensure that accessible, high-quality health coverage is affordable to all.
2) Limiting Premium Payments to a Percentage of Income: This credit will ensure that securing quality health care is never a crushing burden for any working family. This guarantee will be achieved through a premium affordability tax credit that ensures that health premiums never rise above a certain percentage of family income. The tax credit will be indexed over time, and designed to maintain consumer price consciousness in choosing health plans, even for those who reach the percentage of income limit.
