SPOTLIGHT: Universal healthcare in Massachusetts


More than 15 years after Mike Dukakis' failed attempt to extend universal healthcare in Massachusetts, the state is looking seriously at the issue again. Republican Gov. Mitt Romney is pushing for an individual mandate to buy health insurance that would cost would between $140 and $320 a month for a high-deductible plan. The Democratic controlled state House has passed a "pay or play" plan that includes a tax on employers which Romney opposes. The goal is to extend insurance to at least 95 percent of the state's population. Article