While other states grapple with health insurance marketplaces, unsure if they will be successful, Vermont reaches for a more ambitious goal — a government-funded model that will be the first universal healthcare system in the nation.
Vermont is looking to start a sort of modified Medicare system for all residents, according to Dave Gram of the Associated Press, a program planned for a 2017 launch.
With the current national unrest over healthcare, along with Republican resistance to the overhaul promised by the Affordable Care Act, states are struggling with implementation. In addition, many businesses are cutting back on healthcare insurance for employees, a move that threatens the entire industry.
Under this landscape, Vermont’s goal of healthcare-for-all looks even more ambitious, especially with the attitude of Gov. Peter Shumlin that it is a right, not a privilege. A payroll tax will support the expansion, Shumlin tells the AP.
It is not a surprising move for the most liberal state in the union according to Election Day polling, one with a long history of activism. It also helps that it is controlled by Democrats, from the governor’s office to both houses of the Vermont Legislature.
One of the other factors that makes universal healthcare possible is that Vermont is a small state — only 626,000 residents — so it is easier to get all stakeholders in step. It also has a strong sense of community, another function of its relatively small size.
Another plus is that the state is already close to universal healthcare. In the 1990s, Vermont pioneered providing healthcare insurance to children, and now has 96 percent of children covered, as well as 91 percent of the total population, second only to Massachusetts.
However, Vermont has not yet answered how it will cover everyone. After 2017, the system will not include federal employees or self-insured employers that have their own coverage, something governed by federal law. This includes IBM, one of Vermont’s largest private employers.
The Vermont system will not apply to employees who get insurance through companies headquartered out of state.
But the 2017 plan will be a start, and perhaps a model of how single-payer health insurance can be accomplished nationwide.
