What is the difference between Obamacare and universal healthcare?

Obamacare mandates an individual to buy from a private sector, universal healthcare mandates an individual to have healthcare provided by the government.

Universal healthcare means that everyone gets healthcare. Universal healthcare in most countries is run by the government. The doctors work for the government, just like the police and firefighters and teachers and trash collectors.

Obamacare sets up a competitive marketplace of private insurance, with the government only covering the least profitable customers (the old and poor).

This was originally a right-wing idea, which Mitt Romney implemented in Massachusetts (including the individual mandate - he sent it back to the state senate when they initially did not include it). A competitive marketplace rather than a government-run operation. Somehow, the Republicans have decided to run so hard against Obama that they have ended up running against their own idea.

Obamacare simply puts in anti discriminatory rules and allows poor people to get healthcare. Universal healthcare is what every western industrialized nation has except for the US. To those people calling universal healthcare inefficient and poor take a look at the statistics,

The name 'universal healthcare' means that everyone is covered. This could be 'socialized medicine' where the govt. actually provides healthcare (like the National Health Service in the UK) or it could be a single payer system where the govt just handles the insurance. But everyone has insurance, that's why it's 'universal' healthcare.

Obamacare falls short of universal coverage. It makes it easier for SOME people to get healthcare, but there will still be millions of Americans who can't get insurance. On one hand it makes it harder for insurance companies to 'cherry pick' only healthy people to insure. On the other it 'mandates' everyone to buy insurance or pay a 'fine' or a 'tax' (what's the difference?) The fine/tax is less than 1% of one's income.

EVERY developed country in the world sees a certain level of health care as a right of citizenship, just like police and fire protection. Except the US. In fact, we pay about twice what all those other countries pay, and they get care as good or better as what we get. That first answerer who complains that Obamacare means poor people will get something for nothing, I wonder if he realizes that he's paying DOUBLE for his health care just in order to keep poor people from getting their own care!

Japanelo Diranela, Frank and Mr. Smartypants gave you very good answers.

PPACA, Obamacare as the Republicans refer to it, is not a government take over of healthcare. Under PPACA everyone will be required to purchase healthcare as opposed to it being government provided.

Universal healthcare sometimes doesn't work and can be expensive but Obamacare works and is cheap.

Right now Insurance companies are still privately owned, but if people drop their coverage and get free Obamacare because its cheaper we will have universal socialized medicine

Universal healthcare is cheaper, more efficient, and covers everyone. Obamacare is better than what it's replacing.

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Obama care scarcely provides for several million. Universal is for all of us.

Obamacare isn't really a thing. Universal healthcare is system that encourages people to scam it.