New "Universal Health Care" Bill in Congress

Two Congressmen, James Langevin (D-RI) and Chris Shays (R-CT) plan to file a bill tomorrow they call the first bi-partisan universal health care plan to come from the US House of Representatives. It would:

1) create a new agency modeled on the federal employee health care benefits program
2) let anyone buy one of the plans offered by this new agency
3) pay 72% of premiums - with sliding scale subsidies to cover the balance for low income Americans
4) use funds from a payroll tax to cover expenses
5) require that everyone have health insurance

The bill adopts the "everyone must share the responsibility for health coverage" theme that we've heard so often in Massachusetts.

Here's a link to the bill.