Released: January 08, 2007

States to expand health coverage

Source: Dennis Cauchon, USA Today

States are planning large expansions in health care coverage this year in an aggressive and potentially expensive attempt to reduce the ranks of the 42.4 million Americans who are uninsured.
The states are acting at a time when Congress, now under Democratic control for the first time since 1994, has put health care lower on its agenda.

Governors and state legislators in both parties and most states have made expanded medical coverage a priority for legislatures — all 50 of which are in session this year, 43 starting this month.

Popular proposals include guaranteeing medical coverage to all children; subsidizing medical insurance at small businesses; and providing tax incentives for businesses and individuals to make coverage more affordable. A few states are considering universal health coverage for all residents. Others are focusing on price competition and preventive care.

“We could not afford the old system,” says Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, whose state is overhauling its program. “The states, as we’ve done on other issues such as welfare reform, are acting as the real innovators and making changes that will affect national policy.”

States are experimenting more with health policy than at any time since the 1980s, says Jim Frogue, a state policy expert at the Center for Health Transformation, founded by Republican former House speaker Newt Gingrich. Frogue says legislatures are often simultaneously adopting policies that appeal to conservatives and liberals, avoiding the deadlock between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

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