A Health Care Proposal that Might (Gasp!) Pass?

The Healthy Americans Act, a health care reform bill co-sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bob Bennett (R-UT) may have just gotten the certification it needs to pass through both chambers of Congress.

As reported by the Salt Lake Tribune’s Matt Canham, The Congressional Budget Office completed an analysis of the bill, and found that it would be budget neutral by 2014.

Wyden’s plan would abolish employer-provided insurance. Instead, citizens would be responsible to purchase their own insurance through a state exchange. Insurers would be required to provide a minimum baseline of coverage to everyone, couldn’t charge different customer’s different premiums, and couldn’t deny coverage.

It’s not a single-payer plan, which would be my preference. But it is promising.

Update: I forgot to mention: The American Prospect has a great special feature on health care reform in this month’s issue. Be sure to see Ezra Klein’s article titled, “The Elusive Politics of Reform,” which gives a good description of Wyden’s bill.

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