I've been seeing a number of references on Ezra Klein's blog about the Wyden-Bennet Healthy Americans Act and it sounds like something to be enthused about (click here to see most or all of them).  The bill (S.334) currently boasts a bipartisan collection of some 15 co-sponsors in the Senate, and Ezra appears to think it just may be the vehicle through which a Democratic president might get us on the way to Universal Health Care.

A key point: It actually saves money:

[T]he CBO, along with the Joint Committee on Taxation, has estimated that the Wyden-Bennett Healthy Americans Act, which reorganizes the health system and implements universal coverage, is fully financed in year one (the year of transition), revenue neutral in year two, and creates surpluses after that. In other words, we can cover the 47 million uninsured without spending more money. As a talking point, this is huge. And that's not a fact missed by Wyden, Bennett, or their cosponsors. At the press conference today, Republicans Bob Corker and Mike Crapo both exulted in the findings, and Corker was particularly insistent that "today is a historic day, because we've proved that every American can have health care, provided by the private sector, and it won't bust the bank. What Wyden and Bennett have done is laid health care on a silver platter for the next president."

Senator Wyden's web site describes it this way:

Guaranteeing Health Care for All Americans

Senator Ron Wyden has unveiled a groundbreaking, bipartisan proposal to provide affordable, high quality, private health coverage for every American, regardless of where they work or live. It is the first bipartisan proposal to reform health care in over a dozen years.

The plan, known as the Healthy Americans Act, would:

• guarantee private health care coverage for all Americans;

• provide health benefits equal to those that Members of Congress now enjoy;

• provide incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management;

• establish tough cost containment measures that save $1.48 trillion over 10 years; and

• be fully paid for with the $2.2 trillion currently spent on health care in America today.

Under the Health Americans Act, health coverage would be portable. Individuals could keep the coverage they have as they move from job to job. Insurance would also no longer be tied to employment. If an individual is laid off, leaves their job voluntarily, or develops a serious illness, he or she  would continue to be covered.

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