Choice detail: Health Care

Choice 2: Expand on the current system to fix many major problems without the risks of radical change

We don’t need to completely start over. We already have many high-quality physicians, medical centers and insurance plans that cover most Americans. We can just extend these programs, public and private, to cover more people. We should require employers and individuals to have health insurance and offer them financial incentives to make it affordable.

The federal government already has effective health programs for the elderly (Medicare), the poor (Medicaid), low-income children (SCHIP) and its own employees. If we expand eligibility for those plans, require employers to offer coverage, require individuals to buy insurance, and increase competition between insurance companies on price and quality, we’ll be able to cover more uninsured people with the least disruption to those already covered.

Gradually expanding the current system is the most practical way to cover more people without breaking the budget.


Therefore, we should:

  • Require employers to offer health coverage to all their workers, even low-wage and part-time employees. Offer tax incentives to businesses to cover the cost.
  • Add a "public option," a government insurance plan to fill in the gaps and cover those who aren't covered by private insurance or other government plans.
  • Develop health insurance pools or cooperatives to allow individuals including the self-employed and employees of small businesses to choose from a variety of insurance companies in active competition with each other. Some federal subsidies and tax incentives could be provided.
  • Extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program cutoff age from 18 to 25.
  • Expand Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,500 for an individual and $29,500 for a family of four) so that it covers more Americans funding and raises the income cutoff to cover the working poor.
  • Make insurance “portable” so people can keep the same policy if they change jobs.
  • Open up the federal employee health insurance program to allow individuals to buy coverage at favorable rates.

Pros and Cons for this Choice
Discuss this choicework