Talk of Universal Health Care Grows
Saturday, January 20, 2007; 2:18 PM
-- Health care for all _ an elusive goal that has tantalized presidents and governors for decades _ is roaring back this year with ambitious proposals in a handful of prominent states.
The promise: Cover millions of uninsured adults and children. Improve the quality of care at hospitals and doctor's offices. Rein in rising costs that are eating up workers' wages, company profits and state budgets.
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The problem: Someone's got to pay. And getting those with a stake in health care _ doctors, insurers, hospitals, workers, employers, government _ to agree on who and how much won't be easy.
The most influential effort is undoubtedly in California, the nation's most populous state, where GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this month introduced a bold plan that would provide health care coverage for 6.5 million residents without insurance.
With less fanfare, Pennsylvania has proposed a similar step and a half-dozen more states are actively debating the idea. All are building on a Massachusetts program that began this year _ it likens health insurance to car insurance, making it a requirement for everyone.
If successful, the states could carve out a long-sought path for universal health care, a goal that's been politically dead since the Clinton administration. But that's a big "if" _ passage won't be easy and the programs aren't cheap.
The Associated Press looked at proposals in front of state legislatures to break down the contentious issue.
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WHY HEALTH CARE IS HOT NOW: It's been talked about and debated for years, but wide agreement is emerging over the problem of health care's rising costs, which swallow wage increases and have threatened to overtake state spending on primary education. Businesses say they're at a disadvantage with global competitors.
The system can't survive another few years on the same track without collapsing, said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat.
"If California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts prove it's doable _ and Maine has already to some extent _ it will create an unstoppable momentum," he said.
Maine brought the issue back in 2003, with a law seeking to provide universal coverage.
