About 700 Pennsylvanians crowded into the Capitol rotunda yesterday for a rally promoting health care for low-wage workers.

Participants, including a busload from Pittsburgh, came to support Gov. Ed Rendell's "Prescription for Pennsylvania" plan, which would require most employers to provide health insurance or pay a 3 percent payroll tax.

Employers are reluctant to provide health insurance because of the cost, about $130 per employee per month, said Tracy L. Lawless, Pennsylvania coordinator for the Healthcare for Healthcare Workers Campaign.

In the big picture, though, providing health-care coverage could save companies money, she said, because the employee retention rate would improve and less money would be required for recruitment and training. Clients will be more satisfied, too, because their caretakers will be more experienced, she said.

Members of Service Employees International Union also came out in droves to support the governor's health-care policy.

"I don't know if it's exactly the right thing, but it's a step in the right direction," said Lynnwood Schultz, president of the SEIU chapter at the Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg.