Scrawny and very tough
Posted on 01/17/2014 3:12:34 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
MONTPELIER, Vt. -In a rare move, a Democratic senator held the floor for much of the Senate Republicans' caucus Thursday.
"I know that I'm in a forum of skeptics and I want to emphasize that I am a supporter. I introduced a financing bill because I believe in it but I also think it's important to have an honest discussion about what this is going to cost and how to do it," said Sen. Peter Galbraith, D-Windham County.
Act 48 required Gov. Peter Shumlin to explain how to pay for a single-payer system last January. He cited implementation delay for only providing a vague outline instead. Galbraith says the governor's proposal will look like his.
"There's really only one way to pay for it in broad terms and that is by an employer-- a payroll tax imposed on employers," Galbraith said.
Galbraith proposes an 11 percent tax on employer payroll and a 2 percent rate for employees. Self-employed would pay both ends and the self-insured would not be exempted; federal employees would keep their current government coverage. Galbraith concedes his tax structure may need tweaking to accommodate plan costs-- current estimates suggest between $1.6 billion and $2 billion-- and legislators' tastes.
A separate hearing on the House side also focused on the future of health care.
"We want to have the highest quality, the best access, but just be a little less expensive than the United States," said Al Gobeille, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.
Gobeille told legislators financing and plan creation can't be done separately. However, that package still needs to be imagined.
"Financing not defined, and the word sustainable, not defined, so the words I feel good about are 'for' and 'is,'" Gobeille said.
Board members have not even defined the term benefits yet. Before it can sign off on single-payer, members must be convinced:
Vermonters will be offered strong plans
The move would not have a net negative impact on the economy
Financing is sustainable
The system shows better value than the 2011 market did
Cost containment will not reduce access
A sufficient reimbursement rate for health providers
"These are the things that make your knees buckle," Gobeille said.
After setting dates for further discussion, the board turned its attention to current reform. As administrators for Vermont's exchange sought changes to approved plans for 2015 in order to comply with federal standards. Regardless of what the state does, single-payer won't move forward unless the federal government signs off on re-purposing exchange funds to run it.
The Senate Finance Committee will review Galbraith's plan Friday. Administration officials are also expected to be there, but it's not clear if they will provide any plans of their own.
The result provides an average spending per person, which related to what insurance costs typically are since insurance companies have to set premiums based on expected costs.
At the low end, the state expects an average spending per person of $2555, at the high end $3194 per person. But the lowest level of insurance coverage offered now in Vermont costs $336 per month, or $4032 per year. Again, the proposed budgets seem insufficient to deliver medical care of the sort people are used to.
Vermont already had a form of socialized medicine, I thought. I thought that Dr. Dean introduced some type of rationed health care.
Anyway, I have been waiting for an article on VT to mention the problem that the governor spoke about during his state of the state address, heroin and prescription medicine abuse.
I have a sister-in-law who still lives in VT and for the past five years has been talking about the rationed health care. Evidently, certain operations are only performed at certain hospitals two times a year and there is a limit on the number of patients who will be treated during one of those periods. For example, back surgery was done in June and in December and they only had 15 slots for the back surgery, my sister-in-law was number 16, so she had to wait until December.
So, you ask, where is this going. I’ll tell you. the doctors told my sister-in-law, don’t worry, we will keep you supplied with pain pills until your operation. They gave her oxy-contin. She had to tell them that she needed something milder because she had kids at home. But that is how the people of VT are getting addicted to prescription pain medicine, the doctors give it to them so that they can cope with the delayed treatment.
Remember the free state movement?
Looks like it didn’t work out so well.
It was bitter sarcasm, and a partial quote of Marx, without a /sarc tag.
Absolutely insane. Vt taxes are already the highest per capita in the country.
“We want to have the highest quality, the best access, but just be a little less expensive than the United States,” <<
Hell!..if its all about “want”....Where’s my pony???
but other than skiing and college, what else is up there?<
Retired government workers from Mass. and Conn.
But how good is your lobster???
I never thought of Tennessee as a maple syrup source - nothing better than the real stuff - how would one go about purchasing a bottle of "Southern-photon-enhanced" syrup? Any outlets you are aware of?
Scrawny and very tough
So far as I know there are no commercial outlets
The folks at Tipton Haines make and sell syrup but it is all gone in a heartbeat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipton-Haynes_State_Historic_Site
Looks like a crayfish - does it go as good with syrup as a good sausage?
Thanks for the tip - I’ll check the site and dream of waffles smothered in butter and swimming in fresh syrup...
no problem, I concur
The people that think a sudden 13% payroll tax will have no negative impact on the economy are the very same people that think plant food increasing 0.01% of the atmosphere over 100 years will cause the sky to fall.
The U-Haul companies will be very busy helping people flee Vermont.
No the employee wil be paying all 13% in reality. It will just look like the employer was paying the 11%. Liberals never learn.
Actually the consumer will be paying the costs.
What you wrote about rationing certain operation in Vermont is not true. Not yet at least.
That is clearly the way that the health costs WILL be kept under control.
Looks like it didn’t work out so well.
Wrong state.
Vermont is already the second "most grey" state because young people can't make a living here. Once they are out of school they get out as quickly as possible.
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