A coalition of economists, health experts and business leaders on Tuesday called on the federal government "to move boldly" to overhaul the country's health care system and help breathe life into the moribund economy.
A petition, already signed by 330 people, was unveiled Tuesday along with two new reports by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, that argue for a greater role among employers in providing health coverage for not only their workers but the millions of uninsured.
One of those studies acknowledges the arduous political landscape that must be navigated to reach a solution, citing California's own failed experiences with health care changes as instructive.
Two years ago, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger built a coalition of consumer advocates, labor leaders, local business chambers and key players in the health care industry to support his case for universal health care. But the Republican couldn't muster support from some of the most potent forces in the debate. His proposals sank under heavy opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce, California Nurses Association and Anthem Blue Cross, the state's largest health insurer.
The national debate over overhauling the health care system has begun in earnest. Senate Democrats unveiled one proposal earlier this month, including a controversial government-sponsored health plan to compete with the private insurers.
The business community, particularly small business owners, may be reluctant to take on the financial burden to fix the country's much-maligned health care system.
The two studies released Tuesday both favor a "play-or-pay" policy that would require all employers to provide health coverage or pay a tax for a public insurance fund.
The payroll tax would be a necessary funding stream for an employer-based solution to the health insurance crisis, said Phillip Cryan who wrote one of the reports for the Economic Policy Institute and the Institute for America's Future.
He claimed that "health care reform will add a very large number of jobs to the economy," but his study did not provide a specific estimate.
Business leaders, however, have been skeptical about such pronouncements.
"Any time you raise taxes on employers, it will be a hardship – especially in this economy," said Marti Fisher, the policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce.
Smaller companies may have to shoulder much of the burden for an insurance fund they can ill afford, she said.
It needs to be a shared responsibility, said Ken Jacobs with UC Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education and a co-author of the second report released Tuesday.
His co-author, Jacob Hacker, a Berkeley law professor, envisions "modest" payroll taxes, perhaps about 5 percent to 6 percent, to pay for an insurance fund if a company does not directly provide health insurance.
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