NEW HEALTH PLAN . . . DEAD ON ARRIVAL?

Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell tried to stake out the center today with a new health-care plan. His scheme aims to cover 95 percent of all Americans by the turn of the century. If this level isn't reached, employer mandates would kick in by the year 2002 -- something that should please the more liberal elements of Congress. Businesses, moreover, would pay only 50 percent of their employees' health care costs, not 75 percent as House Democrats would like. That's a bow to conservatives' wishes. Small businesses would also be exempt from this burden. While the plan received a thumbs-up from the President, it is sure to ignite fresh debate in the next few months. Republican Senate leader Bob Dole, a steadfast opponent of employer mandates, was heard referring to the Mitchell plan as a "corpse."