Legislative Assistant, Office of Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio


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Dana Smullen

way to approach the nation's health care challenges is to devise a "toolbox of policy options," and the bipartisan "Health Partnership Act" would do just that, Dana Smullen, legislative assistant to Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, the bill's sponsor, said.

The bill, which has the support of the liberal Urban Institute, the conservative Heritage Foundation and many other groups, would provide grants for proposals to expand and improve health care at the state and regional level through a new State Health Innovation Commission within the Department of Health and Human Services.

The proposals could include such things as single payer plans, expanded health savings accounts, even state-level changes to federal programs such as Medicaid. The states would be required to report the effectiveness of their projects to the commission, which would then report the information to Congress.

"This would provide a platform for a thoughtful, constructive conversation for health care reform," Smullen said.

The legislation has not moved beyond the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and will die when the 110th Congress convenes in January. It will almost certainly be reintroduced next year, though.