Universal health care using vouchers instead of mandates?

Peter Fuad has posted as comment #5 to this Paul Krugman post a very clever idea to improve and reframe the Democratic proposals for universal health care.  In addition to improving the workability of "mandates," it co-opts the Republican language of "vouchers."  Fuad points out that what is at stake is not a socialized medical delivery system but a socialized medical payment system. 

Update on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 02:31PM by Skeptic

For Krugman's comment on why Obama is unwittingly undermining the Dem dream of universal healthcare, go here.  So far this has stirred up 95 comments (which I did not have the time/energy to read).

Comments

[Truman]

Better idea - check out the Website.

Why mess with multiple payment systems? The universal healthcare voucher would be issued to everyone to be exchanged for a government-defined health plan. This eliminates employer-based health insurance, one of the major contributors to the current healthcare mess. It would also eliminate administrative overhead at all levels of government and in the private sector. Health plans would compete for your business on the basis of service and quality keeping costs down and improving quality.

[Truman]

That Website is: http://www.healthcarevouchers.org