You remember strangely. I remember a health care plan that was invented by the extreme liberals at the Heritage foundation and first implemented by the extreme liberal who the Republicans nominated in 2012.
I remember health care being a principle point of debate in the 08 election.
The 2008 Presidential Candidates' Health Reform Proposals: Choices for America - The Commonwealth Fund
McCain would change the tax code to encourage people to buy coverage through the individual insurance market and effectively loosen state rules governing the sale of insurance by allowing people to buy policies across state lines. Obama would encourage the continuing participation of employers in the health insurance system, expand eligibility for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and create a new insurance market "exchange"—with consumer protections, choice of public and private health plans, and income-based premium subsidies—that would largely replace the individual market.
Obama won the 08 election and implemented a more conservative version of his plan in the hopes of bringing on some Republican support. However, the GOP leadership decided that supporting anything Obama did would all but ensure a second term victory, so they made the political calculation to be obstructionists.