From the Cato Institute

HillaryCare redux

by Michael F. Cannon and Michael D. Tanner

[Michael D. Tanner and Michael F. Cannon are coauthors of the forthcoming 2nd edition of "Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It," published by the Cato Institute.]

Once again, Hillary Clinton has unveiled a massive new plan to reform America ’s health care system. Once again, her plan calls for higher taxes -- it will cost more than $110 billion per year -- lower wages, fewer jobs, less choice, and worse health care. Sen. Clinton appears to have learned little since the public rejected her last attempt to overhaul the U.S. health care system in 1994.

The centerpiece of HillaryCare II is an individual mandate, which is a fancy way of saying she would force everyone to purchase health insurance or face penalties.

But where the government mandates that you buy insurance, the government defines what “insurance” is.

This means the government will be designing your health coverage, with the help of legions of special interests with more political influence than you have.

If you are among the 85 percent of Americans who currently have health insurance -- and are happy with it -- but it doesn’t meet Hillary’s definition of proper insurance, too bad.

You’ll have to shell out for the insurance she says you should have.

A similar mandate in Massachusetts has already led to a requirement that all insurance cover prescription drugs and no plan have a deductible of more than $2,000.  Sen. Clinton may say that you can keep the coverage you have now, but if you read the fine print, she doesn’t really mean it.