| Page 2 of 2 < |
Senator Wants Universal Health Care Plan
The group, created in 2003 by legislation sponsored by Wyden and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, recommended that the government take steps to guarantee that all Americans have basic health insurance coverage by 2012.
Wyden said his new plan would allow workers to carry their health insurance from job to job without penalty. More efficient administration and more promotion of competition for health care plans, he said, would allow greater coverage while costing no more than the government is paying today for health insurance coverage.
  Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., left, discusses his plan for affordable health care during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006. From left are, Wyden, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern, and Safeway President Steve Burd. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook - AP) In Depth
Swine FluHealth authorities race to unravel the many mysteries about the ominous new swine flu spreading around the world.
 
Your Co-Workers Like McSteamy?
We can help you find the right work environment with competitive benefits. Nursing, Allied Health: Get a New Job
|
The plan would require that employers "cash out" their existing health plans by terminating coverage and paying the amount saved directly to workers as increased wages. Workers then would be required to buy health insurance from a large pool of private plans.
After two years, companies would no longer have to pay the higher wages. Instead, Wyden said, they would pay into an insurance pool, based on annual revenues and the number of full-time workers.
At Wyden's request, the Lewin Group, a Virginia-based health care consulting firm, reviewed the plan. The consultant said the plan would reduce health spending by private employers by nearly three-quarters and save $1.4 trillion in total national health care spending over the next decade.
Increases in premium payments for individuals and families would be offset by higher wages and subsidies provided under the plan, the report said. As an example, Wyden cited a worker who earned $60,000 last year, and received about $12,000 worth of health care coverage.
The worker's health insurance would be terminated but his salary would increase to $72,000, which would cover his health care coverage. The plan would bar workers from buying a "bare-bones" health package and pocketing the savings, Wyden said.
___
On the Net:
Citizens' Health Care Working Group: http:/
