Edwards criticizes Obama health plan
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Friday, November 30, 2007
DES MOINES -- Democrat John Edwards took aim at rival Barack Obama's health care plan Thursday, saying it would leave too many Americans uninsured.
Obama's plan would not require Americans to get health insurance as Edwards' plan would.
"Sen. Obama's plan is not universal," Edwards told reporters Thursday in Des Moines. "It does not require that everyone be covered, and as many as 15 million Americans would be without coverage. And I've seen an estimate that up to 90,000 Iowans would be left without coverage."
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor took issue with Edwards' comments.
"Sen. Obama's plan is universal, but the difference between his plan and Sen. Edwards' is that he doesn't believe the government should force people to buy health insurance they can't afford, which is why his plan does more to cut costs than any other," Vietor said.
Hillary Clinton has similar criticisms of Obama's plan, and highlighted them in a campaign appearance in Iowa this week. Both Clinton and Edwards require that Americans obtain health insurance, but differ on how they would reach that goal.
"There are very substantive policy differences between us on this issue. I just want to make sure caucus-goers are aware of that," Edwards said.
Edwards said he has not seen details of how Clinton would enforce her mandate. Edwards' plan includes subsidies to help Americans obtain coverage.
"The way we bring people into the system is any time they have contact with the health care system or the government, they get enrolled," Edwards said.
In Iowa this week, Clinton laid out a number of possible ways to enforce the mandate, including a default enrollment system where people are automatically enrolled when they come into contact with the health care system or schools or colleges. Employers could also automatically enroll people.
The health care issue has been the subject of heated debate between Clinton and Obama in recent days.
Edwards said he was proud to become the first candidate to offer a universal health care plan when he rolled out his proposal earlier this year.
"What I think is most important for me is to stay focused on what I want to do as president," Edwards said. "And to the extent we have policy differences, I will certainly point those out, but I'm not interested in petty bickering."
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Obama's plan would not require Americans to get health insurance as Edwards' plan would.
"Sen. Obama's plan is not universal," Edwards told reporters Thursday in Des Moines. "It does not require that everyone be covered, and as many as 15 million Americans would be without coverage. And I've seen an estimate that up to 90,000 Iowans would be left without coverage."
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor took issue with Edwards' comments.
"Sen. Obama's plan is universal, but the difference between his plan and Sen. Edwards' is that he doesn't believe the government should force people to buy health insurance they can't afford, which is why his plan does more to cut costs than any other," Vietor said.
Hillary Clinton has similar criticisms of Obama's plan, and highlighted them in a campaign appearance in Iowa this week. Both Clinton and Edwards require that Americans obtain health insurance, but differ on how they would reach that goal.
"There are very substantive policy differences between us on this issue. I just want to make sure caucus-goers are aware of that," Edwards said.
Edwards said he has not seen details of how Clinton would enforce her mandate. Edwards' plan includes subsidies to help Americans obtain coverage.
"The way we bring people into the system is any time they have contact with the health care system or the government, they get enrolled," Edwards said.
In Iowa this week, Clinton laid out a number of possible ways to enforce the mandate, including a default enrollment system where people are automatically enrolled when they come into contact with the health care system or schools or colleges. Employers could also automatically enroll people.
The health care issue has been the subject of heated debate between Clinton and Obama in recent days.
Edwards said he was proud to become the first candidate to offer a universal health care plan when he rolled out his proposal earlier this year.
"What I think is most important for me is to stay focused on what I want to do as president," Edwards said. "And to the extent we have policy differences, I will certainly point those out, but I'm not interested in petty bickering."
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
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