Rival proposals floated to cover the uninsured.(health insurance)(Brief Article)

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has enjoyed plenty of medical achievements: As a surgeon, he performed 250 heart and lung transplants; he also established the transplant program at Vanderbilt University.

But five years ago he traded his surgical gown for a senator's suit. Since then, the number of Americans without health insurance has increased. That, Frist says, is "my greatest disappointment" as a senator.

As a physician, he adds, "it's a real travesty."

Frist thinks he has found a way to make health insurance affordable for many of the 44 million Americans who now go with out it. Teaming with two colleagues in the Senate and two members of the House, he plans to introduce legislation that would provide a refundable tax credit to low- and moderate-income Americans who purchase health insurance on their own. …