In Vermont, single-payer health care in a single state

[t0dd]

Congress never really considered a single-payer health plan run by the government. Vermont is planning for one. This isn’t some liberal fantasy. Vermont lawmakers are serious. To understand how serious, you only have to look at the resumes of William Hsiao and Jonathan Gruber.

Hsiao, a Harvard economist, is credited with designing Taiwan’s single-payer system. Gruber, an M.I.T. economist, helped design Massachusetts’ near-universal health care system and the federal health care reform law itself. They’re on the team that the Vermont legislature contracted with this year to explain how single-payer would work there. In other words, the nation’s 49th most populous state is deploying some of the world’s leading experts to redesign its health care system. Their report is due early next year, after which Vermont will decide whether to become America’s first single-payer state.

...

For now, though, those obstacles haven’t compromised the incoming governor’s commitment to the single-payer concept. In fact, he doesn’t think he has much of a choice.

Shumlin’s view is that health care interests are powerful enough in Washington that aggressive cost containment isn’t really possible there. “I believe that the states will have to lead true, meaningful health care reform,” he says. “We have a real opportunity to lead the country in health care if we have the courage.” But Shumlin and others also argue that, despite some of the difficulties, Vermont is the perfect place to try.

The biggest advantage Vermont has is the political environment in the state. Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont, the state’s largest private insurer, has stayed neutral on single-payer. “We don’t think it’s our role,” says Kevin Goddard, the company’s vice president of external affairs. Even the state chamber of commerce, while somewhat dubious of the concept in its purest form, isn’t actively opposed yet.

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=535073

[jwirr]

1. Good. Someone needs to try it. I had hopes for MN but since this

state has elected a teabagger congress nothing good will happen here. Thank God, we have Dayton to veto some of the junk.

[flamingdem]

2. Yay Vermont! Leading the nation in conservation, politics, community and health! nt

[midnight]

3. Does Vermont have a high speed rail yet? They sound like the future.

[flamingdem]

11. Yes! They have high speed COW POWERED rail, the Chinese are envious nt

[gateley]

4. Yet another good reason to move to Vermont! Their ambassador, Senator Bernie Sanders,

and now this, make it sound like what we all think America SHOULD be!

[frazzled]

5. I hope it works, but Vermont

is also, at a population of 621,760, the 49th out of 50 states in population. It's the size of El Paso, Texas (620, 426). It is 98.12% white. Despite being 49th in the nation in population, it's 15th in the nation in income.

Some may say it doesn't matter that Vermont is unique in many ways, as described above, but I think it means Vermont may be able to do things that are not easily or readily replicable in other states. But I hope they make a good experiment out of it.

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Canadian single-payer health care began in Saskatchewan, which is small population-wise and atypical

Much like Vermont.

The "father" of the Canadian national health system, former Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas, was named the Greatest Canadian in a poll done by the CBC several years back.

[flamingdem]

12. That's not true, it's black and white

the cows that is..

[rucky]

13. As long as the demographics are representative of larger populations

I don't see why this can't be scaled up.

It's possible having a mostly rural population like Vermont could present a challenge in that you have to provide services for a more spread out population. In the cities, you can centralize it more and serve more people with less infrastructure, so it might work even better in El Paso.

Fingers crossed.

[Willinois]

6. States are allowed to do this because of the HCR bill, correct?

Thank you President Obama.

[eridani]

9. Not until 2017, which Sanders is trying to change n/t

[Willinois]

14. They can get a waiver to do it sooner.

I'm guessing the waiver will be approved with Obama as President.

[MisterP]

7. the MA and Federal schemes? those are the OPPOSITES of universal healthcare! nt

[mmonk]

10. Even though my metro area is more populous than the whole state

of Vermont, it is obvious the bigger ideas come out of Vermont. Godspeed.