Who to thank for single payer in Vermont? Vermonters.

[cali]

first of all, for quite some time now, and long predating the ACA, grassroots organizations in Vermont have been working toward single payer. These groups should get a lot of credit.

http://www.vermontforsinglepayer.org/

Dr. Deb Richter is a big factor and deserves a big thanks

<snip>

Despairing of ever advancing universal care in the state of New York, Dr. Richter moved to Vermont where she thought that politics were on a scale where she could have an impact. Practicing medicine three days a week, Dr. Richter used the rest of her time to travel the state speaking about a so-called single payer system that would dispose of the multitude of private insurance companies and offer patients a simple point-of-access health care. Recognizing that businesses and doctors were key constituencies, she spoke to every Rotary Club and every business association that would have her, as well as to any doctor who would listen. She also started a new organization devoted solely to educating the public about the single payer system. She helped organize a rally that drew 1,000 people to the state capital. Eventually, Dr. Richter found her way inside the statehouse, where she formed alliances with legislators from all three parties—Democrat, Republican, and Progressive.

In 2011, with Dr. Richter standing by the Governor’s side as he signed the bill, Vermont became the first state to enact a framework and a timetable for a state-level single payer health system. Implementation of the law now waits for the clearance of a number of crucial hurdles, among them a federal waiver of requirements in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—Obamacare—and the passage of a financing plan that would raise enough new tax revenue to replace what is currently spent on private health insurance premiums.

<snip>

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/11-1

From the same article:

<snip>

The push for single payer health care in Vermont began as far back as the late 1980s, when a small and eclectic group of Vermonters—a dairy farmer, a physician, an advocate for better wages, a political organizer, a college professor, and a mental health counselor—set out to change their state’s health care system. Their premise was that piecemeal reforms—such as subsidies for the uninsured, non-binding hospital budgets, and private insurance tweaks—would never solve the problems of escalating health care costs and inequality of access. Single payer or Medicare for all, in which the government funds health care but does not run the delivery of it, seemed the best way to reorganize the system, providing universal access, quality, and cost controls.

<snip>

In 1989, they established a small nonprofit called the Vermont Consumers’ Campaign for Health. They raised funds, hired staff, and built a citizens’ movement. They sponsored educational forums around the state, published a newsletter, and arranged meetings with labor unions, consumer groups, businesses, teachers, town officials, and politicians. The organization coordinated referenda on single payer health care at more than 50 town meetings, and drummed up support for a single payer bill to be introduced in the Vermont legislature.

The response to the group’s efforts was overwhelmingly positive. Vermonters readily accepted the notion that the state should be everyone’s health insurer. Businesses would be relieved of the burden of buying health insurance for employees. Labor unions would no longer have to fight for health benefits at every contract negotiation. All Vermonters would share in financing the program, and therefore all Vermonters would have a stake in ensuring its quality and efficiency.

<snip>

In fact, just read the whole Common Dreams story.

Peter Shumlin ran for governor on a platform of single payer. Vermonters elected him.

The dems and VT Progressive Party members in the legislature deserve credit.

Bernie has been advocating for single payer for decades.

The President signed legislation that includes a waiver.

Leahy and Welch support single payer.

In other words, thank grassroots advocacy and a responsive legislature elected by Vermonters for Vermont taking this path.

Human rights from the grassroots up: Vermont’s campaign for universal health care

Abstract
In 2008, the Vermont Workers’ Center launched the “Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign,” a grassroots campaign to secure the creation of a universal health care system in Vermont. Campaign organizers used a human rights framework to mobilize thousands of voters in support of universal health care. In response to this extraordinary grassroots effort, the state legislature passed health care legislation that incorporates human rights principles into Vermont law and provides a framework for universal health care.The United States has often lagged behind other nations in recognizing economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights, including the right to health. Nonetheless, activists have begun to incorporate ESC rights into domestic advocacy campaigns, and state and local governments are beginning to respond where the federal government has not. Vermont serves as a powerful example of how a human rights framework can inform health care policy and inspire grassroots campaigns in the United States.This three-part article documents the Vermont Workers’ Center campaign and discusses the impact that human rights activity at the grassroots level may have on attitudes towards ESC rights in the United States. The first part describes the Vermont health care crisis and explains why the center adopted international human rights principles for their campaign. The article then goes on to discuss the three-year campaign and analyze the health care reform bill that the Vermont legislature passed. Finally, the article discusses the campaign’s local and national impact.

<snip>

http://www.hhrjournal.org/2013/08/19/human-rights-from-the-grassroots-up-vermonts-campaign-for-universal-health-care/

[tsuki]

1. What happens to Workers' Comp under the Vermont

single payer plan (medical portion)?

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Meh... you guys just want to reclaim the "most liberal state" crown from us Bay Staters

You'll get that crown in 2017... but we'll be back...

(In all seriousness, you guys are great! Leading the way on this one!)

[cali]

3. Love MA and I love Boston. Lived there for 10 years before

moving to Vermont.

but here there's more of a sense that you really can change things.

Plus, Vermont has a viable progressive third party with members in both the State Senate, the House and in state and city government.

http://www.progressiveparty.org/

[Luminous Animal]

4. K&R

[TheKentuckian]

5. Agreed, electing sane folks not on loan from the corporations is fundemental

A pile of cash as big as a mountain and a stack of waivers tall as Paul Bunyan aren't enough to make it happen and the people of Vermont chose wisely to be able to make hay when the sun shined and by all accounts were doing what it takes to make the sun shine regardless of what anyone else did or didn't do.

[cali]

6. It's just that crediting the President for this isn't accurate

Vermonters have been working hard on this for years and years and people like Dr. Richter and the Vermont Workers' Center with their "Healthcare is a Human Right" campaign and Peg Franzen who died a couple of weeks ago- these are the people that deserve kudos.

And for all the "You just hate Obama" folks: this isn't about President Obama.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

8. "crediting the President for this isn't accurate"

If the ACA is as awesomely awesome as we're being led to believe one is left to wonder WHY we would want single payer or anything else to replace it.

[cali]

13. I don't see people here saying that. Maybe I missed it but what I've

seen is most people seeing the ACA as a stepping stone to single payer.

[FogerRox]

34. A waiver is available from the ACA

The ACA has nothing in it about opting out to single payer, IIRC all it allows is an "equivalent system".

[tavalon]

17. ACA is awesome? No, it has as many problems as it had the day our President signed it into law

But whether he meant to or not, he just pulled a pretty important piece out of the Jenga game and you know what happens when enough states take their pieces out and decide to go single payer. Play Jenga to find out.

[joshcryer]

7. Don't forget Jonathan Gruber and William Hsiao.

Jonathan Gruber in particular who loved Hillary's plan and was thrown under the bus for it, until he got on board with Obama's administration as a technical consultant...

[cali]

9. this op is about how everyday Vermonters achieved single payer in Vermont

I'd think you'd celebrate that, but no- just snark.

Never has a "Whatever" been so deserved.

[PoliticAverse]

28. More on Hsiao and Gruber and Vermont...

http://ldihealtheconomist.com/he000015.shtml

[uponit7771]

10. So Vermont was moving to SP without the ACA? thx

[cali]

11. VT was absolutely moving to single payer, long before the ACA

[suffragette]

12. As I've said before, may Vermont be our Saskatchewan and lead the way

To single payer for all the states.
And thanks to you Cali and all the people in Vermont for working toward this positive change!

[tavalon]

18. You gave me a lot of homework.

Soon, I will feel smart enough to expound upon this. Gosh, I really hope you are right. And I hope we see it in our lifetimes.

[suffragette]

38. I hope we see it, too.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/facts/sicko?print=1#
Tommy Douglas, who pioneered Canada's health care system, was heralded as the nation's singular most important person.

"In November 2004, Canadians voted Tommy Douglas the Greatest Canadian of all time following a nationwide contest. Over 1.2 million votes were cast in a frenzy of voting that took place over six weeks as each of 10 advocates made their case for the Top 10 nominees in special feature programs on CBC Television… . From his first foray into public office politics in 1934 to his post-retirement years in the 1970s, Canada's 'father of Medicare' stayed true to his socialist beliefs -- often at the cost of his own political fortune -- and earned himself the respect of millions of Canadians in the process." "The Greatest Canadian," CBC, 2004.

Much more here from Canada:

http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP14CH3PA5LE.html

And here about Vermont:

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/11-1

[cali]

14. I'm kicking this because the wrong people- be it Obama or even Bernie- are

getting the credit.

Factually, that's just not right.

[FogerRox]

35. Agreed.

[LWolf]

15. Thank you, Vermonters.

[Sunlei]

16. wish people stuck in crap states could share/pool with the Vermont plan

send our premiums and any federal funds to them to build their pool. I'd even send them an extra premium to cover their state tax increase.

Amin. savings alone will be huge and cutting out the 'for profit' middlemen another huge savings.

[tavalon]

19. cutting out the for profit middlemen

is the money quote right there!

[geek tragedy]

20. Congratulations are premature, no?

Single payer hasn't been implemented in Vermont yet. They don't even have the funding mechanism in place.

As we've seen, passing something via the legislature is the easy part. Implementing it is the hard part.

It's very encouraging that they're pursuing, and it will be fantastic if they make it work.

But, it will be disastrous if they fail, not just for Vermont but for the cause of single payer in the other 49 states.

[cali]

21. no, it's not premature. It'll happen.

and it is in the process of being implemented.

for instance, legislation has been passed and implemented that controls hospital costs.

[geek tragedy]

22. What cost control mechanisms are in place?

Cost control is indeed essential.

[cali]

24. Hospital price increases have to be approved by a state run board

[geek tragedy]

30. Maryland and West Virginia do that as well.

Certainly that will help, as well cutting down on overhead billing costs.

[PoliticAverse]

29. Unless a Republican gets elected President in 2016 and rescinds the waiver... n/t

[FogerRox]

36. The ACA waiver doesnt happen until 2017 IIRC.

IIRC -the ACA makes single payer illegal until 2017.

[Wounded Bear]

23. First off, kudos to VT for leading on this...

I've long thought that the ACA would open up the possibility that the states would move to single payer systems on their own.

The timing suggests that ACA may have provided some additional impetus for the VT measure, but I know that this has been growing in several states for a long time. CA nearly passed a SP measure a few years back, but it was torpedoed by Swartzie and there weren't enough votes to override. Hawaii has had a form of UHC working for a while. My nephew lives there and has had to avail himself of it.

Here in WA, our exchange is working pretty well and people are getting coverage-over 60,000, at last count IIRC, have policies in the pipeline. Far more have received Medicaid.

The fact that Repubs don't want people to know is that states that actually worked on this are getting their citizens access to healthcare, while red states are lagging behind. I suspect they won't be able to keep the lid on this for much longer.

The ACA is deeply flawed, but if more states can follow VT's lead and start up SP systems, the snowball effect will override everything else, even corporate intransigence.

[cali]

25. part of the point of the op, is that the ACA had little to do with single payer

in Vermont.

[Wounded Bear]

27. Except that...

the original text of ACA precluded what VT has done. That was probably intentional.

Thankfully, verbiage was inserted that allowed waivers in favor of SP systems that met the minimum health coverage standards of the ACA. The fed effort very nearly torpedoed what VT was doing. I'm glad it was corrected before the bill was signed.

Again, I applaud VT and it's citizens and gov't for enacting this and wish them all well. I look forward to other states doing likewise.

[FogerRox]

37. Vermont was going single payer back in 2009 IIRC, the ACA stopped Vermont infact

Vermont has to wait until 2017, per the ACA, before they can implement single payer.

[shenmue]

26. Thank u Vermont!!!

I love that! I hope other states have the guts to do it too.

[ProSense]

31. Single Payer movement in the era of Obamacare

Single Payer movement in the era of Obamacare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024090281

[cali]

33. Vermont started down the road to single payer before the ACA

but I do think the ACA will actually help VT to implement it.

[Mopar151]

32. Vermonters got an interesting view of how things worked

C. 1980. I was on my Dad's VT BC/BS, and seeing a doctor in VT.

VT BC/BS tried to change over to a new computer system for claims/payments - and it tanked. Complete failure, blamestorming, handwringing - but they were taking in premiums. For months, nobody got paid. 3-4 months in, BC/BS cut "estimated" checks to most of their providers, as the entire system teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. IIRC, it was finally resolved by hiring NH BC/BS to process claims, as the VT system seemed to be beyond salvage.

IIRC, VT bcbs merged with NH bcbs soon after.