Comparing the Plans
Coverage
One of the most important elements to consider when purchasing health insurance is how much coverage is provided by the plan. With a private insurance plan, the coverage will depend entirely on the type of policy you have, what company you take it from, and what procedure is needed. This could create confusion when trying to determine whether the care services needed are covered under your specific plan, but also allows flexibility for customers to only purchase the level of coverage they need based on their current age and health status. It would be impossible to dictate on a national level what kind of coverage everyone requires and so the national plan would have to be almost fully comprehensive to cover the healthcare needs of the average American. The children-only plan would have similar problems, but would maintain the flexibility to choose a policy for adults who are starting to buy their own health coverage.
Cost
As was already mentioned, national healthcare programs require tax dollars from the citizens to support. A full cost analysis would have to be done in order to determine what tax rates would be necessary to cover every American for the national healthcare plan. Similar analysis would be required to evaluate the children-only plan, which would require a lower tax level, but perhaps a different structure based on whether it is established as a local or state managed program or as a department run through the federal government. Private insurance policies would send the cost directly to those covered under them and their employers, which requires no direct tax dollars to fund.
Stability
There are many factors to consider when determining the stability of a healthcare system. The private insurance solution would not be regulated by a government employee who says whether or not you will receive the experimental care you could choose on a more flexible private insurance plan, but would be subject to fluctuations of the market. During booming economic times, coverage would be more comprehensive and less expensive, but, as times get hard, some coverage might get cut or rates might go up for the same basic coverage. A national healthcare plan would not be as affected by market swings and trends. However, in a government-run system, civil servants would be responsible for deciding what services and procedures would be covered under the United States national healthcare plan, and this might not include some specialty treatment. In order to get this care covered, it might be necessary to apply for a waiver or testify before a board of government employees. This would be similar to the situation in private insurance when more radical treatment methods are proposed.