A Move

A Move Toward Requiring Health Coverage.

One day after signaling a fresh willingness to consider taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, President Obama indicated yesterday a new openness toward a nationwide requirement that every American have health coverage.In his push to enact sweeping health-care reform legislation this summer, Obama previewed what could be the outlines of a compromise on two of the thorniest issues confronting Congress. He said he could support mandates on both individuals and employers to contribute to the cost of health insurance if the bill provides protections to certain small businesses and poor people."If we do end up with a system where people are responsible for their own insurance, we need to provide a hardship waiver to exempt Americans who cannot afford it," he wrote in a letter to top Senate Democrats.During the presidential primaries last year, Obama attacked then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's proposed individual mandate as a scheme to "go after people's wages." In the letter, however, he said he understands that key committees are "moving towards a principle of shared responsibility -- making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage, and asking that employers share in the costs." The approach tracks closely with a universal health program enacted in Massachusetts three years ago in which individuals must have coverage and businesses must either offer insurance to employees or pay into a state fund that provides coverage.In Massachusetts, individuals can receive free or subsidized care based on income. Obama also pledged -- without providing details -- to trim an additional $200 billion to $300 billion out of Medicare and Medicaid spending over the next decade. That would be on top of the $309 billion in Medicare reductions in his budget, though Congress has not embraced the specifics.

Source; washingtonpost.com