Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Edward Kennedy named fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton to lead a working group on insurance coverage in the effort to write health-care legislation.

Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said in an e-mailed statement today that Clinton will head one of three groups developing ideas for health system changes. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa will lead a group on prevention and public health, and Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland will work on improvements in medical quality.

President-elect Barack Obama has proposed expanding government health programs, giving subsidies to low-income families and requiring insurers to cover everyone, regardless of medical condition. Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, has been overseeing meetings among his staff and interest groups to develop legislation that Congress could act on next year.

``Our committee is fortunate to have the services of major leaders who are committed to improving health care for the American people,'' Kennedy of Massachusetts said in the statement. ``I look forward very much to working with them.''

Clinton, a senator from New York, led an unsuccessful attempt to win passage of health-care legislation in 1993 and 1994, when her husband was president. She made the issue a centerpiece of her campaign against Obama in this year's Democratic presidential primaries. Clinton's role in Kennedy's effort may be short-lived if Obama nominates her as secretary of state, a possibility reportedly under consideration.

Revamping the $2.2 trillion health system must focus on getting everyone coverage, said Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, at a conference in Washington today sponsored by the Wall Street Journal. Fifteen percent of Americans lack insurance.

`It's a Disgrace'

``It's a disgrace that we don't have universal coverage,'' said Baucus, a Montana Democrat. ``I believe strongly the opportunity is here for us to have a health-care system we can be really proud of.''

Baucus last week presented the first Democratic health plan since Obama's victory, saying all Americans should be required to have insurance once coverage is made affordable.

In his health-care blueprint, he said that only a mandate would ensure people didn't wait until they were ill to buy health insurance, forcing up the price for everyone. During the Democratic campaign, Clinton said she backed a mandate, while Obama said it wouldn't be necessary if insurance was cheap enough.

The goal is to move ``on broad-based health reform'' early next year, Baucus said today. ``We all have to keep an open mind in figuring out how to get to `yes.'''

To contact the reporter on this story: Aliza Marcus in Washington at amarcus8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 18, 2008 18:19 EST