Beachwood legislator pushes health care for all

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/07/beachwood_legislator_pushes_he.html

A legislator from Beachwood is working on a proposal to insure Ohio's 1.3 million people who have no health coverage.

The proposal, drafted by State Rep. Armond Budish, a Democrat, would require that all Ohioans have health insurance. The plan combines elements of plans pushed last year by now-Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican Ken Blackwell during the gubernatorial race, and also borrows ideas from other states.

"I've tried to design it in a way that can pass a Republican controlled legislature and a Democratic governor," said Budish, who plans to unveil the proposal to Ohio leaders in August. "I've tried to make it practical and workable."

Budish, an attorney and freshman legislator, wants the proposal to succeed so much that he is willing to take his name off it if someone more powerful from either party will champion it.

(more, including details on the plan)