Len Nichols, a health policy analyst at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit think tank in Washington that stresses bipartisan solutions, has carved out a position right down the middle. He has concluded that employer-sponsored coverage actually makes sense for a small fraction of workers-mostly those at big companies-and doesn't see why we shouldn't keep it in place for them. For low-wage workers and workers in small firms, he advocates subsidies so that they can buy into group plans-such as state-employee plans. Likewise, though he supports individual mandates, he also thinks raising at least a hundred billion dollars in taxes may be necessary to provide insurance to all Americans.

This month, Nichols plans to keep his eyes on Beacon Hill. ''Massachusetts," he says, ''is a fascinating test case, which will help us see where the country is headed."

It may seem like a drop in the bucket for now, but it adds up fast, your elected representatives do notice ... and time is really of the essence. Like baseball, we are quickly entering the post-season of the health care debate.

This is cache, read story here