MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin is one of more than a dozen states looking at some sort of universal health care plan.

Massachusetts, along with Vermont and Maine, has already enacted universal coverage plans.

Jennifer Tolber, a policy analyst for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured in Washington, D.C., said that both California and Pennsylvania have put forward detailed proposals.

Unlike the Massachusetts plan being implemented in July, the Wisconsin proposal isn't a mandate.

Instead, Gov. Jim Doyle wants state-sponsored health insurance made available to 98 percent of residents.

Maine and Vermont also don't require people get insurance but they have universal coverage as a stated goal of their plans.

Doyle said that he believes the plan he has proposed will reach more people and do it faster than any place else.

He might have an easier path given that Wisconsin already has one of the lowest rates of uninsured residents in the country at 10 percent.

Doyle wants to see that down to 2 percent beginning next year.

Doyle's plan has drawn both praise and criticism for its reliance on the Medicaid program. It focuses heavily on simplifying the process for enrolling the uninsured, raising taxes on tobacco and hospitals, and tapping into federal matching funds.

If it can clear the Legislature, it also needs federal approval.