Obama says No to Required Health Insurance

If you are keeping a watchful eye on the current presidential debates, you are well aware that health insurance is a key issue. Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both feel that requiring United States residents to have health insurance is a good idea. But on the other side of things, Barack Obama is not sold on this idea. In fact, Obama has gone on record as saying that this is not something that he supports.

With that being said, he is not totally ignoring the state of the health insurance industry. He simply has other ideas on how to get the country back on track. In a recent speech at Thomas Jefferson High School, Obama said that instead of requiring health insurance he feels that making it more cost effective is a better idea. Under his plan, families would save an average of $2,500/year on the cost of health insurance. He feels that this would make health insurance more affordable for everybody without placing demands on the general public.

Obama said, "Their essential argument is the only way to get everybody covered is if the government forces you to buy health insurance. If you don't buy it, then you'll be penalized in some way. What I have said repeatedly is that the reason people don't have health insurance isn't because they don't want it, it's because they can't afford it."

At this time, the United States Government estimates that approximately 47 million residents do not have health insurance coverage.

As each candidate begins to make their case for the Democratic nomination, it is safe to say that the issue of health insurance is going to become a sticking point. Many feel that the way each candidate handles this issue will determine who ends up securing the nomination.

Only time will tell if Americans feel that Obama has the most efficient plan.