Montpelier, Vermont - March 23, 2011
Health care is a $5 billion enterprise in Vermont, so the stakes are high as the governor and lawmakers try to overhaul the current way Vermonters get and pay for their health care.
"We recognize our current system is broken," said Rep. Mark Larson, D-Burlington.
The authors of the single-payer approach argue the current system costs too much and too many are still without health insurance.
"People understand we need to do something different and this bill proposes a plan to get us somewhere different and it is responsible in its identification of the clear steps that have to occur," Larson said.
Here's what the bill would do:
- It creates a health insurance exchange-- that's where small employers and people can compare prices and buy health insurance.
- The exchange could transform with federal waivers into Green Mountain Care, a single health insurance program for all Vermonters.
- The bill creates a powerful five-person board appointed by the governor. The board would design the benefit insurance package for the single-payer system. It will also regulate health insurance costs and payments.
But critics of the board approach say it leaves just too much power in the hands of five people.
"It just seems to me we rushed into this real quick and now we have a board who is going to take over and do it all," said Rep. Jim Eckhardt, R-Killington.
And a big sticking point for some are the unanswered questions. Like how much a single health insurance program would cost and what tax will be used to finance the new program.
"It just leaves people with a lot of uncertainty. I don't know if you know businesses like to plan for the future and you can't really plan for the future with what we are facing here," Eckhardt said.
"If we want to get somewhere better than where we are today we have to start making steps and we can't allow the fear of the unknown to hold us back. Vermonters simply cannot afford our current system," Larson said.
It's a bill that's expected to see approval this week in the House before heading to the Senate for discussion.
It will take new tax dollars to get this new system underway. It will cost $1.2 million. The money committee has tucked away the money in next year's budget.
The salaries for each of those board members could top six figures. Some of the remaining money would be used to hire consultants to get Green Mountain Care underway.
Anson Tebbetts - WCAX News
