Arizona Groups Propose Health Care Plans For Ballot

Two Arizona surgeons on Tuesday unveiled a 2008 statewide general election ballot proposal that would prevent mandated health coverage from ever being enacted in the state, the Arizona Republic reports Health Insuranc. Jeffrey Singer, treasurer of the ballot measure campaign, said the proposal would preserve residents' rights to purchase or abstain from purchasing health insurance.

Meanwhile, a separate petition drive, organized by Healthy Arizona, Health Insuranc is preparing a measure that seeks to provide health coverage to all residents and that would base premiums on a sliding income scale (Fischer, Capitol Media/Arizona Daily Star, 9/26). Mark Osterloh, a Tucson ophthalmologist on the steering committee of Healthy Arizona, said the group has not yet crafted the final language of the plan.

Arizonans for Responsible Health Care also is developing a health care measure to be added to the ballot Health Insuranc. Under its proposal, all legal residents who have been in the state a minimum of three years would receive health coverage paid for by employers and employees through payroll deductions Health Insuranc.