On February 5, 2007, Edwards unveiled his plan for universal health care. The plan subsidizes health insurance purchases for poorer Americans, requires that all Americans purchase health care, "requires that everybody get preventive care," and requires employers to offer health insurance through the Medicare system as one option for their workers. Since Medicare has lower administrative costs – under 4%, versus 20% or more for many HMOs — Edwards believes that individuals will be able to save on health care by using the public option. While it is not a single-payer plan, the plan states that "over time, the system may evolve toward a single-payer approach if individuals and businesses prefer the public plan." and make Medicare the de facto national health program.
