serve as a basis for the development of the legislation. These plans (see box, next page) differ considerably in their meaning, intent, purpose, and scope of services and benefits they would underwrite.) We met in Texas, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and California and spent two days in Canada studying that country's national health insurance system. We saw acute care settings where people waited for hours and then had only their most immediate need cared for. On the other hand, we saw magnificent examples of institutional and community-based care that engendered the hope that such care could indeed be available