A Tale of Two States: Socialist Hawaii vs. Conservative Utah on Health
A tale of two states? For Times reporters, Hawaii's liberal health care reform is a model for the nation, but Utah's brand of conservative health care reform isn't.
"Since 1974, Hawaii has required all employers to provide relatively generous health care benefits to any employee who works 20 hours a week or more. If health care legislation passes in Congress, the rest of the country may barely catch up. Lawmakers working on a national health care fix have much to learn from the past 35 years in Hawaii, President Obama's native state." - Reporter Gardiner Harris in his October 17 story "In Hawaii's health System, Lessons for Lawmakers."
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"Utah is only the second state to develop its own insurance exchange, and it is distinctly different from its better-known counterpart in Massachusetts. It is also unlike anything currently envisioned in Congress....Despite a warm reception from one of Utah's senators, Orrin G. Hatch, a Republican, when the model was recently discussed in Washington, Ms. Hilman cautioned that the Utah exchange was not an example of how to fix the health care system. 'Those who are opposed to national reform will point to Utah,' she said. 'I think that's a big mistake.' - From Reed Abelson's October 6 article, "One State's Solution May Not Be a Model for the Nation."
