Why Should the Boss Pay for Your Health Care? - New York Times

The only health care plan that will work in the long run is one that has the person responsible for their health and for the cost of their health care. Compensation in the form of dollars in a paycheck to help cover those costs may be very appropriate.

In essence, an employer provides real dollars to an employee and health care coverage meeting some minimum standard would be mandatory along with catastrophic coverage. Whether the government should allow a tax deuction for those health care dollars is a really tough question. I think they must unless a single payer plan existed.