Recently we've been rolling out some video interviews conducted of State House Call bloggers. This week it's my turn, as I discuss an agreement between auto makers and the United Auto Workers.

The agreement includes a VEBA, which is a relatively new and unusual method of providing health care benefits. Known formally as a voluntary employee beneficiary association, a VEBA gives unions financial responsibility for health care coverage. One hopes that the experience brings a dose of reality, though the UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger still calls for a single-payer health care system.

There's some question of whether GM and the rest will launch these giant funds with enough financial backing--the VEBA is loaded not just with cash, but other financial instruments.

John E. Murray, a professor at the University of Toledo, warns that "If VEBA members see the trust as the company's money, little will change in terms of health care spending." On the other hand, "Should they see it as their own money, as did industrial sickness fund members, GM and the UAW will have produced a remarkably creative solution to a seemingly intractable problem."