They have some lofty goals: Make health care, housing and higher education affordable and available to all Utahns; boost wages; and replace people's spending habits with a knack for saving.

The group, known as the Financial Stability Council, was formed by the United Way of Salt Lake, not the governor. But it aims to influence policy.

A senior state health official calls the group "one to watch." And Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who has committed to reducing the number of Utahns without health insurance, has said he will wait to see the council's health care reform plan before delivering his own.

The council will unveil its solutions in September - and not before, since the group is not bound by open meeting laws and is developing its ideas in private gatherings.

Any proposals will be publicly aired and vetted by lawmakers, said council chairman Lane Summerhays, president of Utah's Workers Compensation Fund.

"In no way are we trying to usurp what the Legislature is doing," he said. "But if we can deliver well-defined ideas to them that have community support, it can't hurt and might help."

The council grew out of the United Way's 2006 report "Living on the Edge." A look at Utah's high bankruptcy and foreclosure rates, the report painted a stark picture of middle-income families living paycheck to paycheck.

Most of the council's five committees are still brainstorming.

But the one tasked with health care reform is considering a proposal already favored by Huntsman's advisers: an insurance exchange, or clearinghouse where citizens can purchase coverage using pretax income, employer contributions and federal and state subsidies.

The health care group is an impressive assemblage of doctors, insurers, business magnates and heads of hospitals and universities.

These community leaders are "coming together in a big way" to tackle one of the country's most confounding problems, but they're not the only source for good ideas, said the group's chairwoman, Natalie Gochnour at the Salt Lake Chamber.

The chamber is mulling its own reform strategies; so are the Utah Medical and Hospital Associations, said Gochnour. "The hope is there will be a confluence of ideas. We have a big problem, and it's going to take everyone's best thinking."

With the nation's ranks of uninsured growing and medical costs experiencing double-digit inflation, health care promises to be the top domestic issue in the 2008 presidential election.

Gochnour stressed "we haven't endorsed anything," but acknowledged her committee is weighing the insurance exchange, similar to a reform born in Massachusetts under Gov. Mitt Romney.

It works like a stock exchange and would contain all private health plans currently available in Utah. Residents would visit the exchange to comparison shop and purchase the plan that best suits their families' needs, using pre-tax dollars and employer contributions.

The coverage would be portable and follow an employee from job to job. Competition among insurers would drive down prices. And businesses would be relieved of the burden of administering their own plans.

Gochnour said the group is still grappling with questions, such as, "If you're going to insure people, what is the basic benefits package and how do you pay for it?"

Another possible reform takes its cue from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Utah's former governor: using technology to help consumers compare costs and the quality of their care.

The council also is tasked with addressing declining wages. One solution would be to make some college education available to everyone, said council member Jason Perry, Huntsman's economic development director.

"Research indicates there's a direct correlation between income and education," he said.

Helping families pay for college and retirement is another focus, said former Utah higher education commissioner Cecelia Foxley. "Other states have invested in some kind of savings account for their children to be matched by the family."

The council also is toying with a marketing campaign to "embed financial literacy in all we do," said Cynthia Bioteau, Salt Lake Community College president.

"It would be similar to tobacco efforts," she said. "Ten years ago we allowed smoking in airplanes. Today, smoking is not a normal behavior; it's looked upon with disdain."

On the housing front, there's talk of changing the federal tax code to allow states to take out more tax-exempt bonds to pay for affordable housing, said Bill Erickson, Utah Housing Corporation president. "This allows us to raise money cheaper than the corner bank and pass savings along to consumers in the form of lower mortgage rates," he said.

Finances are one thing, but there are political hurdles for housing solutions, too, said Erickson. "We need to encourage local governments to embrace high-density housing, not impede it."

kstewart@sltrib.com