MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A group of lobbyists and mostly Republican lawmakers say the Shumlin administration's single-payer report falls short of legal requirements.
At a Thursday morning news conference, lawmakers said the report on Vermont's 2017 health care transition was not released on time or with the depth and detail mandated by Act 48.
House Minority Leader Don Turner says the administration should follow the path it set forward last year.
Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding says they substantively did, and that timelines changed when it became clear the federal government would not allow a faster transition time-table.
"We're not here to debate health care reform in the content and the law that was passed, we're strictly wanting the governor to comply with the law that was passed by this body," said Turner, R-Milton.
"We're in sync with the majority of legislators; we're in sync with the majority of Vermonters. And there are people that want to undermine our ability to move to a single-payer system and we can expect these kind of stunts on a regular basis," Spaulding said.
The act does not contain any enforcement language should the administration or legislators miss deadlines.
The report found that Vermonters would save about $300 million over what they currently pay for health care by moving to a single-payer system in 2017.
