Learning from universal health care proposals

I find it interesting the two states that put forward concrete universal health care plans, a core Democratic issue, were both led by Republican governors – Mitt Romney in Massachusetts and Schwarzenegger in California. I also wonder if the members of the Senate Health Committee in California looked at the successes and failures of the Massachusetts plans before voting their own plan down. While more people than ever are covered in Massachusetts, the cost overruns have been more than $400 million.

So, here is the question. Looking at these two states, does their history make the argument that universal health care cannot be achieved in the United States or that it can be achieved, but only at the national level? What do you think we have learned about the country from looking at these two states?

– Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent Programming note: Watch "Broken Government: Health Care – Critical Condition" Sunday night at 11 ET on CNN.