Universal Health via the states) Governors Write Their Own Prescriptions

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook21nov21,1,2705723.column?coll=la-headlines-nation

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-outlook21nov21,1,2705723.column?coll=la-headlines-nation

RONALD BROWNSTEIN / WASHINGTON OUTLOOK
Governors Write Their Own Prescriptions for Healthcare Crisis
Ronald Brownstein
Washington Outlook

November 21, 2005

Last week, one day apart, two governors took dramatic steps that could crystallize a healthcare debate developing in the states — even as Washington mostly averts its eyes from the problems of declining access and rising costs.

On Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation making Illinois the first state to guarantee all children access to health insurance.

The next day, Republican Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina asked the federal government for permission to shift responsibility for providing health coverage for the state's poorest citizens primarily to private insurance companies.

These divergent initiatives signal an escalating competition to develop models for coping with the slow-motion crisis in healthcare.

Several Democratic-leaning states are rallying around plans to ensure universal coverage for children as a first step toward expanding access for adults.<snip>

[Warpy]

1. Bills have been languishing in the NM Lege for as long as I've been here

just waiting for one of the big HMOs to go belly up and the crisis to become severe enough for people to ignore all the screams of "communism!" from the rich.

I've been on record for decades saying the states will end up being the ones to deal with this mess as the insurnace giants merge into just two or three mega companies and start to pull our of "unprofitable," meaning POOR, markets.