The debate over health-care coverage has moved well beyond government-funded insurance vs. free markets. Policymakers across the political spectrum are experimenting with new ideas. Our story looks closely at three of them: Individual mandates, changing the tax treatment of insurance premiums, and combining private coverage with a social safety net. These aren’t necessarily competing reform plans–the Hillary Clinton plan, which was released after our story closed, draws upon all three. In plain and balanced language, we explain the economic principles behind all these ideas, how they might (or might not) work in practice, and who would benefit and who would lose. “RX America” is an invaluable citizens’ guide to nitty-gritty of the health-care reform proposals on the table in the 2008 campaign.
