Who to thank for single payer in Vermont? Vermonters. [View all]

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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

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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.

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

From the same article:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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