Burr and a group of fellow conservative Republicans came up with the proposal after being asked by party leadership to develop an alternative to a children’s health-care program now being debated in the Senate.

Instead, they decided to develop an entirely new plan to cover the millions of Americans who are now uninsured.

“For anybody not under a government health program, it provides the resources to access health coverage,” Burr said in an interview this morning.

The proposal calls for raising money by taxing the health-care benefits that many workers now receive through their employers. Those health premiums now are tax-free.

The money then would be used by the U.S. Treasury to offer refundable tax credits. Individuals would receive $2,160, or up to $5,400 per family.

For those with employment-based coverage, the credits would be enough to cover the tax bill on all but the richest insurance plans, Burr said.

For people without employment-based health care, the tax credits could be used to pay for private health insurance or other health-care costs.

Burr, of Winston-Salem, is a member of the Senate health committee.