WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Expanded healthcare coverage is on the agenda for U.S. lawmakers as states seek to shrink the ranks of their uninsured.
In various states, proposals would guarantee medical coverage to all children; subsidize medical insurance at small businesses; or provide tax incentives for businesses and individuals to make coverage more affordable, USA Today said.
A few states are considering universal health coverage for all residents. Others are focusing on price competition and preventive care.
States lawmakers are experimenting more with health policy than at any time since the 1980s, Jim Frogue, a state policy expert at Washington's Center for Health Transformation, told USA Today.
There are several reasons. Budget surpluses and more flexible federal rules make expanding healthcare programs easier. Also, states enjoyed success in controlling healthcare costs in 2006, which freed up billions of dollars committed to healthcare but not spent.
"We could not afford the old system," Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, whose state is overhauling its program, said to USA Today. "The states ... are acting as the real innovators and making changes that will affect national policy."
