Single payer ideologues still dont get it. Advocates of a single-payer plan said Shumlin should not be able to cast aside Act 48, the 2011 law that called for the creation of Green Mountain Care, without repealing it. A group planned to hold a rally in front of the statehouse on Thursday to protest his decision. “The governor’s misguided decision was a completely unnecessary result of a failed policy calculation that he pursued without Democratic input,” the group Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign said in a statement. Read more: politico/story/2014/12/vermont-peter-shumlin-single-payer-health-care-113653.html#ixzz3MFFKTFGw *** It was the single payer activists that helped push the single payer plan on the state legislature and Gov. Shumlin used them to help win the Democratic primary for governor in 2010. This is well documented in a Vermont Life article. How Vermont got taken for a ride down the single payer tracks - posted here in May 2013, but well worth reviewing again. Is Governor Shumlin sincere about single payer health care or did he use this proposal primarily to get the single payer activist and their grass roots effort to help him get elected in 2010 as suggested by the Spring issue of Vermont Life? Shumlin had this to say: “When I entered the five-way Democratic primary, I was the last candidate in, and I was polling fourth out of five. Most people thought it was a fruitless effort. I was the only candidate in America to make ads that said, ‘If you elect me governor, we are going to pass single-payer health care,’” Shumlin said. “The grassroots support I got from single-payer advocates made it possible for me to be governor. They knocked on doors. They poured their hearts out. They saw an opportunity, and I would not be here without them.” Single payer activist Ellen Oxfeld agreed. “She believes the single-payer advocates delivered Shumlin the primary and the general election, which was also close.” vermontlife/special-report-pre-exisiting-conditions/ The further delays in releasing the financing for single payer beyond two election cycles should also be suspect, as we discussed earlier this year.. Shumlin’s commitment to single payer system has been questioned in a VT Digger article. vtdigger.org/2013/05/21/shumlins-commitment-to-single-payer-health-care-questioned/ From the article: “When Gov. Peter Shumlin signed Act 48 into law in 2011, he set Vermont on a path toward a single payer health care system. Two years later, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are questioning his sincerity. And a strategy to draw up a financing plan for a single payer system is nowhere in sight.” Shumlin and his administration were complicit with blocking the single payer financing plan in violation of Act 48? This should be a red flag that the financing will not be easy, if possible at all. Shumlin has gone through multiple machinations to convince Vermonters, and particularly his singe payer supporters, that he is still working on the single payer plan and will (ahem) have the financing details available after yet another election. We reviewed these machinations in our April 20th post on this facebook page: Shumlin’s Single Payer Financing Fandango Governor Shumlin and his administration are keeping the single payer financing dance going by adding evermore dance partners. Governor Shumlin appears to be hoping he won’t have to figure out how to pay the piper before this dance ends, sometime after the 2014 election. Previous attempts at single payer health care reform during the Howard Dean administration fell apart when financing was addressed. So this time around single payer was passed into law before a detailed plan on how to finance it was developed. The Hsaio report, that served as the basis for the single payer plan, had suggested a 14.5% payroll tax. This plan was rebuffed by Cairn Cross, managing director of Fresh Tracks Capital, who stated that single payer financed by a payroll tax will encourage the formation of lower-paying jobs in Vermont and the migration of higher-paying jobs out of Vermont. He concluded, that an income tax will be a likely be part of single payer financing. vtdigger.org/2011/02/08/cross-single-payer-many-sweatshops/ The single payer law (Act 48) was passed in 2011 and required a detailed financing plan be presented to the legislature by Jan 15, 2013. A $300,000 contract was signed with the University of Massachusetts to provide this information, but the details were blocked by the Shumlin administration. What we learned from the UMass report is that Vermont would have to raised at least $1.6 billion dollars to fund single payer – but no details on who would pay and how much they would pay and through what mechanism in taxes, fees, penalties and assessments. [We now know that this is likely an underestimate vtdigger.org/2013/11/14/independent-study-finds-state-estimate-cost-publicly-financed-health-care-low/] vtdigger.org/2013/01/29/redux-report-calls-for-1-6-billion-in-taxes-doesnt-include-recommendation-for-financing-single-payer/ vtdigger.org/2013/01/31/house-gop-accuses-shumlin-administration-of-violating-requirements-of-health-care-reform-law/ vtdigger.org/2013/02/22/shumlin-administration-disputes-claim-it-has-withheld-tax-plan-costs-to-support-single-payer-health-care/ **** It is surprising that many single payer advocates are still supportive of Gov. Shumlin, rather than being incensed over being used by him to win elections. Reviewing the history of the single payer charade is very revealing for those who have paid attention. Perhaps someone should send Shumlin Cheerleader and vtdigger political columnist Jon Margolis a copy of this post to open his eyes. This is what Jon had to say about Shumlins decision to not go forward with single payer: vtdigger.org/2014/12/17/margolis-leading-means-able-say-lost/
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 11:06:50 +0000