Cristy Gallagher

Fear is a powerful force. Families fear the disappearance of affordable health insurance, employers fear international competition while financing high and rising health care costs at home, and providers fear that they will not be able to deliver needed care for lack of funding. In short, just about everyone fears that our system will fall apart. Instead of taking action, many politicians remain fearful of tackling health care reform, since it crushed the Clintons and others before them.

But hope… more

Gov. Ed Rendell aims to make health insurance affordable for all Pennsylvanians. The Democratic governor's "Prescription for Pennsylvania" remains one of the largest proposals of any state, according to health policy advocates. Here is how it compares with similar proposals in California and Massachusetts.

Massachusetts already has a law, pushed by former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, that requires every resident to obtain health insurance. Coverage is mandatory, and those without policies face a fine equal to half the cost… more

With his leg injured in a recent skiing accident, Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor, this week announced a plan that could change the terms of America's health-care debate. The Republican in charge of the country's most populous state, where 6.5m people, almost one resident in five, lack medical insurance, said he wants to introduce universal health-care coverage.

His recipe is a combination of insurance-market reform, government subsidies and—most important—compulsion...

Although the details are still sketchy, Mr Schwarzenegger's plan is very like another pioneering… more

Frustrated by the lack of action or even attention at the federal level, states and local governments are looking for creative ways to expand programs to reach the 47 million Americans without health insurance. There have already been a number of creative initiatives by states and localities over the last five years to cover more of the uninsured, which deserve our review.

Massachusetts recently passed major health care reform, which has widely been reported as an innovative way to provide for… more

Cristy Gallagher was a consultant on state health reform for the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation in 2006 and 2007.

Prior to joining New America, Ms. Gallagher was Special Advisor for Federal Relations to former Governor Richard Codey (D-NJ) in his Washington, D.C., office, focusing on health care,… more

Fear is a powerful force. Families fear the disappearance of affordable health insurance, employers fear international competition while financing high and rising health care costs at home, and providers fear that they will not be able to deliver needed care for lack of funding. In short, just about everyone fears that our system will fall apart. Instead of taking action, many politicians remain fearful of tackling health care reform, since it crushed the Clintons and others before them.

But hope… more