While Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, acknowledged the new plan by itself doesn't constitute health reform, he said it does buy the market more time to implement beefier changes and moves the state one step closer to its goal of getting every Utahn insured.

Designed to act as a health insurance cushion between jobs, NetCare is less pricey than COBRA - the insurance that companies must extend to departing employees, typically at the full price of the group premium.

Because it is "mandate light," meaning it doesn't include all the benefits required by the state, NetCare is about a third of the price of the average large-group premium. Those who elect to have a higher deductible can get it at nearly half the cost.

NetCare would be available to individuals and families, or could be purchased as a group plan, said Dunnigan, who spoke for the task force's insurers workgroup.

It focuses heavily on incentives to make healthy lifestyle changes and offers preventative care for cheap.

Insurers also called on the task force to address the root causes of skyrocketing health care costs - the reason premiums are so high. “Without a reduction in overall costs, it's not sustainable to offer affordable products on the market," Dunnigan said.

Individuals, he said, must start playing a more active role in their health. Technology should also be better utilized to streamline administrative costs and improve health outcomes.

Dunnigan said Utah must also do a better job getting its uninsured enrolled in public programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, and require Utah's higher-education students to have, at minimum, catastrophic coverage.

But Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, the task force's House chair, blasted the insurance industry - in particular brokers - who he said have erected roadblocks to getting the state's online insurance portal and other reform efforts off the ground.

The task force and Huntsman want a portal, a "Travelocity.com" of health care, to make insurance plans more transparent and help consumers better weigh their options. But insurers have protested the large administrative costs associated with it.

"It appears everybody wants to hang onto the wheel and everybody's got their foot on the gas," Clark said.

lrosetta@sltrib.com

At a legislative meeting Friday, the state's health insurers unveiled a new plan called NetCare. The plan:

* Would be offered to employees transitioning off their employer's health insurance for up to 12 months. After that, they would have to reapply as as an individual and be evaluated.

* Would be available to both individuals and families, and could also be purchased as a group plan.

* Focuses on wellness, offering consumers incentives such as reductions in their premiums and deductibles for making healthy lifestyle changes. Preventive care would also be cheap - a $5 copayment, with a maximum annual benefit of $300 before the deductible kicked in.

* Out-of-pocket costs for most services, including hospital and maternity services, would be 30 percent after the deductible is met.

* Generic drugs could be purchased with a $15 copayment, while brand-name drugs would cost 50 percent of their retail price.