Mitch Daniels Does Not Support an Individual Mandate . . . Anymore

Governor Mitch Daniels is playing defense again. No, not because of his social issues truce. And no, not because of his foreign policy naïveté. Rather, today he's assuring people that he does not favor an individual mandate or universal healthcare (in the Democratic sense of the word).

Mitch Daniels in 2003:

The candidate said he favors a universal health care system that would move away from employee-based health policies and make it mandatory for all Americans to have health insurance.

Daniels envisioned one scenario in which residents could certify their coverage when paying income taxes and receive a tax exemption that would cover the cost.

"We really have to have universal coverage," Daniels said.

His spokesperson doesn't say when Daniels changed his mind, just that he "does not support a mandate." And when Daniels talked about universal coverage, she says that he meant, "He favors giving every American a tax credit individually so they can purchase insurance that is right for them. He believes nearly all would use it, so coverage would be nearly universal."

Obviously, Governor Daniels gets points for coming to his senses sometime between 2003 and now, but for a candidate who seems wishy-washy about everything else, this isn't at all reassuring. And I use "candidate" there in the hypothetical sense, since he still hasn't decided (or asked his wife to decide) whether he's even running for President.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 06:36 PM

| Access Comments