Democratic presidential contenders are more in line with the public than their Republican counterparts when it comes to addressing the problem of the uninsured, according to a new survey by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York City-based foundation that advocates health care reform.
More than 80 percent of Americans think employers should be required to provide health insurance to their workers or pay into a fund to help cover them, the survey found. The leading Democratic presidential candidates have proposed an employer mandate in their health care plans, although Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Democrat, would exempt small businesses. Mrs. Clinton would instead provide them with tax credits as an inducement to offer health insurance.
The problem of how to provide health insurance to all Americans is one of the top campaign issues being confronted by Democratic and Republican contenders in the presidential primaries. About 47 million people in the United States do not have health insurance.
None of the Republican presidential candidates would require employers to provide health insurance. Though they have yet to make public their health care strategies, they so far have focused on providing tax breaks to individuals who buy insurance on their own. But, this “pay or play” requirement on employers is supported by most Republicans surveyed as well as most Democrats.
“The public seems to be more in line with the Democratic position,” said Sara Collins, assistant vice president at the Commonwealth Fund. The fund, a not-for-profit foundation with more than $550 million assets, primarily focuses on health care and social issues. It was founded in 1918.
“In some ways, the Republican proposals seek bigger changes to the way most people currently obtain coverage. Most of their plans propose a diminishing role for employers, whereas the leading Democrats favor keeping employers in the game,” she said.
More than 60 percent of people surveyed said candidates’ health care positions would be very important in their decision on who to support for president. Of the Democratic candidates, Mrs. Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina would roll back or let expire the tax cuts of the past few years for high income households, in addition to using employer and individual contributions to premiums, to pay for their health care reforms.
An employer mandate could face strong opposition from some small-business groups who fear the high cost of health care. In addition, large companies will surely attempt to implement the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which shields certain employers from government interference in their health care plans. Recently, using an ERISA defense, a California restaurant association won a ruling in an appeals court overturning San Francisco’s attempt to require employers to provide health insurance.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses now says it supports universal health care in principle, but “a health care system built on employer mandates or on play-or-pay taxes is unacceptable.”
As for individual health coverage mandates, the Commonwealth survey found that a slight majority of Republicans support requiring individuals to have health insurance, while 80 percent of Democrats are in favor.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Edwards would require individuals to get insurance, while Mr. Obama would require only children to be covered.
• Health Care runs on Fridays. Contact Gregory Lopes at 202/636-4892 or glopes@washingtontimes.com.
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