The bill contains controversial elements that will require the bipartisan input and will get a lot of attention after the election, Bennett said.

Among them is shifting the main source of insurance coverage from an employer to the individual. Employers would be required to increase wages by what they had been spending on health care for at least two years, and businesses would eventually be taxed to help support the system. Government subsidies would be provided for low-income individuals.

Current law provides unlimited tax relief for coverage obtained through an employer but no comparable relief for those who purchase coverage outside their places of work. A growing number of experts, both liberal and conservative, recognize that this is a major problem.

Achieving efficient, affordable insurance is a goal, as well as provisions for health savings accounts that would permit year-end amounts to roll over to the following year.

Bennett said government regulations, which many health-care critics say are the biggest hurdles to a logical, expedited, new and improved system, would have to become more flexible, both to allow for state plans being developed now and find ways practical ways Washington can help rather than hinder.

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E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com