The Obama Health Plan Emerges

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:03 PM EST

Article Source: Wall Street Journal

business, obama, finance, healthcare, barack, tax, unviersal

"Universal" government-run health care proved too ambitious even for FDR, who stripped it out of the Social Security Act of 1935. Lyndon Johnson settled for Medicare and Medicaid. Now liberals think the political moment has finally arrived to achieve what has eluded every other Democratic President from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

One signal is yesterday's news that Barack Obama has selected Tom Daschle, the very liberal former Senate warhorse, to head the Health and Human Services Department. But an even clearer sign was last week's release by Montana Senator Max Baucus of a policy blueprint that closely resembles the one Mr. Obama campaigned on for 17 months. The plan is significant not only because its author is Chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, which oversees taxes and about half of all government spending. Mr. Baucus is also one of the more moderate, and cautious, senior Democrats.

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"First, Democrats want the government to create a national insurance exchange, or marketplace, in which all comers could buy into a range of heavily regulated private policies at group rates."

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#1 - Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:04 PM EST

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"Lower-income earners would get subsidies to make coverage 'affordable.'"

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#2 - Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:05 PM EST

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The Obama Health Plan Emerges

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