Growing sentiment that the nation's health care system is broken beyond repair is moving the once radical idea of universal health coverage closer to the political mainstream...

Few would argue with the goal. More than a few would question whether it's realistic...

The three proposals - the Wisconsin Health Security Act, the Wisconsin Health Care Partnership Plan and the Wisconsin Health Plan - have each been introduced at least once in previous legislative sessions.

Their supporters now are working to come up with one bill that would stand a chance of being passed by the state Senate this year. They don't expect it to become law. But Newby said that getting a bill for universal coverage passed by even one house of the Legislature would be historic...

Many economists, however, contend that providing health care to the uninsured will cost money, at least initially.

"From the economist's perspective, we are taught from a very early age that there ain't any free lunch," said Len Nichols, director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a policy research organization that focuses on bipartisan solutions.

With the right reform, the country or a state could provide health care coverage for the uninsured for the same amount of money now spent on health care, Nichols said. But he questions whether it can be done from the start.

"It is going to take time to get those savings out of the system," he said...

For the complete article, please visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.