Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has issued a call for universal health care, more than a decade after her attempt as first lady to reform the U.S. healthcare system. Clinton emphasized that the plan is not government-run. Instead, she called for a requirement that businesses obtain insurance for employees, and said the wealthy should pay higher taxes to help pay for those who can't afford coverage. She put the government's cost at $110 billion a year." I know my Republican opponents will try to equate health care for all Americans with government-run health care. Don't let them fool us again. This is not government-run,” she told a crowd in Iowa. The centerpiece of Clinton's proposal is a so-called “individual mandate,” requiring everyone to have health insurance. Under the plan, people who receive insurance through the workplace could continue to do so; businesses would be required to offer insurance to employees, or contribute to a government-run pool that would help pay for those not covered. Clinton would also offer a tax subsidy to small businesses to help them afford the cost of providing coverage to their workers." I believe everyone — every man, woman and child — should have quality, affordable health care in America,” Clinton said. Individuals and families not covered by employers or whose employer-based coverage is inadequate, would receive helps from expanded versions of two existing government programs: Medicare, and the health insurance plan currently offered to federal employees.
