Rep. David Clark, Waddoups' co-chairman, did not return calls for comment Tuesday. Clark was critical during the 2006 legislative session of an effort to charge uninsured patients the same amount that insurance companies pay for their customers, accusing sponsoring Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, of trying to circumvent the task force's efforts.

Waddoups and Davis said they were motivated to act by information they've received through task force meetings — stories of physicians being excluded from or forced to join insurance companies' panels, of uninsured, cash-paying patients spending twice as much for health care, and of collusion between insurance companies and hospital systems.

"It's my hope that this isn't an attack on any one individual or group," Davis said. "It seems that there's a problem here, a consolidation that's truly not in the consumers' best interest."

Representatives from many of the organizations that have testified against the current system applauded the senators' efforts to effect large-scale change.

"The doctors' concerns always center on the ability to provide patient care," said Dr. Catherine Wheeler, president of the Utah Medical Association. "We do believe that there are some business practices that suppress competition."

Dr. Martin Brown, medical director of the Utah Ambulatory Surgical Center Association, which cobbled together Tuesday's meeting, called the push for an investigation an "important and necessary move" in bringing about reform to Utah's system.

The association has fought for increased transparency in the state's health-care system and appealed to lawmakers for legislation that would provide equal patient access, as well as reasonable reimbursement for services.

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