House passes Vt.'s own take on health reform ("Public Option")

[kpete]

Source: CNBC

House passes Vt.'s own take on health reform
By: The Associated Press | 23 Apr 2010 | 07:03 PM ET
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MONTPELIER, Vt. - Vermont lawmakers made clear Friday that recently enacted federal health care reform did not go far enough toward a public model, passing legislation that could bring to the state the "public option" health insurance rejected by Washington or even a Canadian-style single-payer system.

By a vote of 91-42, the Democratic controlled House passed its own version of legislation passed earlier by the Senate. Both bills call for designing a single-payer system, in which a government agency would administer and make all payments for health care.

The House version calls for that as well as a parallel design of a system with a public option for health insurance, meaning a system in which a health insurance program offered by the government would compete against those offered by private companies. The House's version also would expand previously enacted reform efforts.

Either system would require federal approval.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36746400

[bamacrat]

1. Oh Vermont how I long for thee, just if you didnt have such brutal winters I would want to be there.

[Bette Noir]

2. And, it has the best Senator in the biz.

I love you, Bernie!

[glinda]

5. I love both the harsh winters and Bernie. I long to move there.

[handmade34]

8. I love Vermont, harsh winters and Bernie

and Pat Leahy and maple syrup and colorful autumns and hikes up Mansfield and Camels Hump and the Warren store and everything except my job has me away from home... I have a house in Vermont and can't live there... I miss it so much!!!

[glinda]

15. Are you selling?

[cali]

16. Danville's a gorgeous town- and it's home to the American Association of Dowsers

[handmade34]

19. Paul Sevigny

dowsed my spring... last one before he passed. You are correct, Danville is a good place to be.

[glinda]

22. interesting....

[handmade34]

20. eventually...

4 acres and small house in West Danville

[glinda]

23. keep me posted

[handmade34]

24. If you can

find someone to buy my house in Michigan, I will sell you the one in Vermont... :-)

[glinda]

25. If you can find someone to buy my house in MN! You have a lot of houses! I wouldn't mind

being near Montpelier.

[handmade34]

26. I will be working in Minn this coming winter...

only 2 houses: 5 acres in Mich, 4acres in Vermont... can't live in either because of job

not Vermont House - but view from Camel's Hump


Michigan house

[mattvermont]

11. One of the benefits of climate change

is that the winters are getting easier and easier here in Vermont. Having grown up in Iowa, I can tell you that those winters are much worse.
Add to that a progressive house, as well as national representation, I would not live anywhere else.

[bamacrat]

28. Very true but at the same time sad climatewise.

[Oregone]

3. Good for them

Entirely not incremental and pragmatic enough to be considered a current-day liberal approach, but good for them.

[andym]

4. This might be the road to single-payer

If Vermonters show that this works in their state, many others will follow.
Eventually the federal government would act.

[Iliyah]

6. Lucky

that the people who live in VT have a senator who cares about their well being!

[cali]

7. but this has little to do with our excellent Congressional delegation

and a lot to do with our excellent legislature and the terrific House Leader, Shap Smith. As for implementing single payer, we'll know in November. If Vermonters are stupid enough to vote in Brian Dubie (R) as guv, it'll go no where. If we vote in one of the five dems- all of whom support single payer- it'll happen within a few years.

[ozone_man]

14. Except that Bernie has always championed national health care.

He really paved the way at the higher level for the state legislature to follow. Bernie is a firefighter of sorts, making it safe to dare say the unspeakable such as single payer, or that too big to fail is just plain too big, period. I even caught Obama saying that the other day.

[TankLV]

17. Isn't that what happened in Canada - one Province started, and the rest couldn't stop it?

Kinda puts a crimp in the naysayers that said that the NHC bill that passed was just a START and would/could be ammended to make it even better...

Time will tell...

[salguine]

9. If they can pull this off in Vermont, it could provide a very strong impetus for

other states to follow suit.

[SoapBox]

10. Bravo!

Good for Vermont.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they can come up with a single payer
system and get it implemented.

Now...Heads exploding in the GOPeer/RushTurdLican't/TeaTraitorBagger groups?
Start the Vomit and Spew countdown! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

[Fool Count]

12. "Public option" is "rejected" by Canadian single-payer system

only because it is not an option - there is no private insurance to compete with
in Canada. While private providers are not allowed in Canada, that distinction
may be purely technical, as no private insurance can, in principle, compete with
a public system, and will almost certainly die out in the US, were public option
enacted there. At the best private insurance may hope to fill the extra coverage
niche (for the services not covered by public plan, like chiropractors, homeopaths
and optometrists) like it does in Australia.

[TankLV]

18. Good - I hope we get the same result here - and SOON!!!

[iandhr]

13. GOD BLESS VERMONT

[friendly_iconoclast]

21. Yay Vermont! Vermonters, please come colonize Massachusetts.

We need your flavor of government around here...

[No Elephants]

30. We don't need more colonizing. Been there, suffered that, fought the Revolution.

We need to get off our duffs and hound our very own Democratic state legislature and Democratic (sort of) Governor!

[and-justice-for-all]

27. K&R

[dogfacedboy]

29. If Vermont can do it, other States will follow.

Once the ball gets rolling, it will take off all around. My State, IL, will go that way. Wisconsin will. Iowa will. State After State.

[Odin2005]

31. YAY, VERMONT!!!

:woohoo: