Whoever takes the lead will oversee such major decisions as these: Should all Utahns be forced to have insurance? Should insurance companies be required to cover everyone regardless of medical history? What are the basics every new insurance plan should cover?

The current version of HB133, the main health-care reform bill, puts lawmakers in charge even though the governor and the legislator sponsoring the legislation don't want it to. They fear the Legislature won't stay motivated to really reform the system.

The bill's primary goal is to get more Utahns insured by gathering stakeholders together to develop a reform plan that would result in new, affordable insurance plans that encourage healthy behavior. The plan could include coverage mandates and new taxes to pay for the reforms.

Rep. David Clark, the majority leader who is sponsoring the bill, said he preferred his original version, which would have put the Governor's Office of Economic Development in charge of developing the plan by next year. Now, the bill would create a legislative task force that GOED would report to.

"On occasion, task forces have been black holes," Clark acknowledged Tuesday while presenting the bill to the House Democratic Caucus.

But Clark said Republican leaders - House Speaker Greg Curtis and Senate President John Valentine - required that lawmakers be in charge. For his part, Clark pledged to stay focused on health care until the state develops a long-term fix.

The governor doesn't want the Legislature to be excluded, but he believes his staff is in a better position to craft a reform plan, said John T. NielsenÂ, Huntsman's adviser on health-system reform.

Nielsen assured the Democratic caucus that Huntsman is committed to real change. "He feels a moral obligation to move this forward," Nielsen said.

While HB133 was developed with the governor's office, Huntsman has concerns about other portions of the bill. He preferred an earlier version that would have eventually required all Utahns to have insurance, Nielsen said. The bill now calls for the mandate to be studied.

hmay@sltrib.com