A key D.C. Council member will propose today bringing the District ever closer to universal health care through a new, publicly subsidized insurance program, one that also requires every city resident to carry insurance or face fines.

Healthy D.C., as conceived by at-large Councilman David Catania, would provide “accessible and affordable health insurance” to as many as 25,000 uninsured individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid or the District’s safety net, the D.C. Healthcare Alliance. It would also penalize, via a $250 a year fine, those D.C. residents who decline to acquire and maintain health coverage of some sort.

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