Universal health coverage worth a try, Blanco says

[CaroleG]

The state is willing to experiment with universal health insurance as it moves to rebuild a health-care system for the poor and uninsured “wiped out” by Hurricane Katrina, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday.

The insurance model — pushed by the federal health chief — would give people more choice in where they get medical care. Today, the poor and uninsured rely on LSU’s charity hospital system.

“It won’t be able to happen overnight and will depend on how many resources the federal government is willing to give us,” Blanco said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt made it clear Tuesday that he expects the state to send him a proposal in which government dollars “support people getting insurance rather than supporting institutions.”


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