<p>WASHINGTON - Employers with five or more workers would be required to pay for most of their health coverage under a new proposal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Kennedy, a Democrat, has long pushed for coverage of the uninsured, whose numbers are expected to rise over the 50 million mark within six years. His new plan would require employers to pay 75 percent of the cost of coverage for their employees, who would pay for the rest.</p>