Just as President Barack Obama got his health care reforminitiative started, a key point of controversy during his campaignagainst Sen. John McCain reared its ugly head–the notion thatemployer-paid coverage should no longer be tax-exempt. That's boundto create a political backlash with voters, and it might promptwider support for a single-payer system.

Stirring the pot was a March 12story in The Washington Post, headlined: "Workers' HealthBenefits Eyed for Taxation." While President Obama and Sen. McCainclashed during last fall's presidential campaign on this touchysubject, Republicans are not the only ones raising the possibilityof slaying this sacred cow.

As the Post reported, "in recent weeks…Sen. Max Baucus,D-Mont., chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, hasrepeatedly advocated changing tax laws to include employerbenefits…Meanwhile, 13 other senators–from both sides of theaisle–have signed on to a plan for universal coverage that includesa tax on employer-provided benefits."