By April, Leavitt said he hopes 60 percent of employers will "have committed to some extent" to the adoption of the initiative.

"Changing health care policy is not easy," Leavitt said. "People say there's not enough political will in the world to change health care. I'd like to suggest that it may be the opposite of that: that maybe there's too much will, that every time a proposition on health care comes up, everybody unholsters their political will and shoots at each other. I would suggest that the only force that's strong enough to change the course of health care is a market-based system."

Dr. Sarah Goodlin, a geriatrician and palliative care physician based in Salt Lake City, said she was "fine" with the proposals presented Friday. But, she said, "I think it misses the vast needs of individuals in knowing how to negotiate the health-care system. I think we need to help people know what they need, how to manage their own health care and the health care of their ill, disabled and frail family members."

However, Scott Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Zions Bank, applauded the initiative.

"When you look at the number of citizens who are not insured, and you look at the charity care costs and the bad debt expenses that are carried by hospitals and doctors throughout our state, those costs are covered by the people who have insurance," Anderson said. "So if we can, by putting in place a basic health-care (plan), I think (Leavitt) said we should see a 3 percent decrease immediately in health-care costs. That will benefit us and make health care more affordable to us as a company and allow us to be more competitive."

Robin Riggs, vice president and general counsel for the Salt Lake Chamber, said the chamber was thrilled with the proposal.

"We couldn't be happier," Riggs said. "This is exactly the kind of initiative the private sector, especially employers who provide health care, have needed for a long time. We have all these disparate parts (in the health care sector) that don't seem to work very well together, and if we can get these very disparate parts talking to each other and working cooperatively with one another, I think we can bring down costs and improve quality and increase access."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com