PIECEMEAL APPROACH TO UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

In what will likely be seen as a popular move among potential eligible recipients, President Clinton has proposed a plan to offer Medicare to certain individuals under the customary 65-year-old age limit. Workers who lose their jobs and need insurance could get Medicare coverage at age 55, while early retirees could get on the plan at age 62. In both cases, the new Medicare participants would have to pay monthly premiums of $300 to $400.

The problem with the plan isn't the intended benevolence toward a small number of Americans -- some 300,000 out of an estimated 41 million who don't have health insurance.

Rather, the problem is how Clinton is gradually creating a piecemeal approach to universal health coverage, which was overwhelming rejected by Congress in the early years of the Clinton administration. The president appears unwilling to push for what he really wants -- federally funded coverage for everyone -- so he is trying to extent his brand of socialism one small bite at a time.

Surely, Congress will see through this strategy and vote to preserve free enterprise while seeking broader solutions to health care.