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1 in 4 Texas drivers lack insurance: Using criminal penalties to require coverage simply doesn't work

In the national healthcare debate during the Democratic primary this spring, a key difference between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's health plans emerged. She favored requiring citizens to purchase health insurance themselves, providing penalties if they did not comply. Obama said her solution was unworkable, that some people didn't have health insurance because they could not pay and it would do no good to punish them.The same dilemma Obama described exists today en masse on Texas roadways. Texas law requires drivers to have insurance, but in practice, for a variety of reasons, about 25% of drivers don't have any according to a recent test by the Department of Public Safety in Austin. Reported AP last week ("Sizable number of Texas drivers lack insurance," July 29):A 60-day pilot project testing the new TexasSure program, which allows law enforcement personnel via computer to verify coverage status when they stop a motorist, focused on Travis County...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).