Clinton vs. Obama: Healthcare Differences

There is one large difference between the healthcare plans proposed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Generally speaking, Clinton plans to place a mandate on every American to carry health insurance coverage. Obama also plans a mandate, but it will not be nearly as large as the one Clinton is proposing. In fact, Obama's mandate is going to be for children only. In other words, adults do not have to carry health insurance coverage but every child would. As you can see, Obama is not taking things to near the extreme as Clinton.

Of course, this talk of mandates leads to one very important question: are the plans proposed by Clinton and Obama constitutional? At this point, this is a debate that is heating up. Being that this is the first time that mandates have been talked about in great detail, most people are unsure of how they feel about this.

For the most part, the United States Government does not require citizens to purchase particular services. In fact, the closest thing to this sort of mandate is that all 50 states require drivers to carry auto insurance coverage. Could this spill over into the health insurance industry if Clinton or Obama wins the November election?

Forcing Americans to purchase health insurance would be new to the United States. Many feel that the mandates proposed by the two Democratic frontrunners will help John McCain immensely. Once either Clinton or Obama wins the Democratic nomination, it will become much clearer how Americans feel about these mandates.