Health co-ops pushed as an alternative to federal insurance

Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2009

Senate Democrats debating how to overhaul America's healthcare system are moving toward a showdown over whether to create a government-run insurance program or set up a system of cooperatives instead. A bipartisan group of centrists on the Senate Finance Committee is leaning toward cooperatives, saying that alternative could offer customers more choice without enlarging the government's role in the healthcare market.