March 9, 2009 3:29PM # Schism in the Church of Universal Coverage By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE On the [*Diane Rehm Show*](https://www.cato.org/mediahighlights/index.php?radio_id=259) last week, I predicted that all the lovey-dovey coalition-forming by the [Church of Universal Coverage](https://www.cato.org/?s=church+of+universal+coverage) would fall apart as soon as people started talking about actual reforms instead of vague principles. Today, *The New York Times* [reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/politics/07health.html): > Two labor unions have pulled out of a broad coalition seeking agreement on major changes in the health care system. > > > The action, by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union, shows the seeds of discord behind the optimistic talk at a White House conference on health care this week. > > > It also illustrates the difficulty of reaching agreement on two of the knottiest issues in the health care debate: whether to offer a new government-sponsored insurance option, and whether to require employers to help pay for employee health benefits. I made a similar prediction in [this op-ed](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9867), where I urged that a new government-sponsored insurance option and mandates are two of three proposals that must be blocked at all costs. The third: [price controls](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9986). ##### Related Tags [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).