Health coverage now

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2006 | by Paul Leavitt; William M. Welch

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signed a bill into law Wednesday that requires virtually all state residents to have health insurance. The law says all individuals who can afford to buy insurance must do so. The state will subsidize coverage for low-income residents. Massachusetts has about 550,000 uninsured in a population of 6.4 million. Romney has touted the law as a national model for universal health care coverage without a government- run system. Romney used his line-item veto power to strike eight parts of the bill, including a $295-per-worker assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance to their employees. He said that provision was counterproductive because some employers might deem it cheaper to pay the fee than to insure workers. Leaders of the states...