Burlington Free Press

As we see more and more of our dollars going toward the rising costs of health care, it is critically important that we continue our efforts to control costs while providing better care for all Vermonters. The governor remains committed to this goal and we are working tirelessly toward achieving this much-needed reform by 2017.

Recently, we released a study that once again shows the clear benefits of moving Vermonters to a single payer health insurance system. Once this plan is in place, we will save over a half a billion dollars per year compared to the current costs of our system. We propose investing these savings in providing better health insurance coverage. Under the plan:

All Vermonters will be covered. Currently more than 40,000 Vermonters are uninsured. Under our universal Green Mountain Care plan all Vermont residents will be covered, regardless of income or employment status. Vermonters will no longer need to worry about losing their coverage if they lose or change jobs, and all of us will have access to high-quality health care.

Health coverage will be comprehensive and affordable. Currently, some of us shoulder as much as half of our health care costs because our insurance is not comprehensive or requires high, unaffordable out-of-pocket payments. Green Mountain Care will ensure all of us can afford high-quality and comprehensive care.

Seniors will also benefit. Currently Medicare beneficiaries face a heavy burden of out-of-pocket costs and most seniors purchase supplemental insurance in order to have reasonable out-of-pocket costs. Under Green Mountain Care, Vermont seniors would have supplemental medical and drug coverage. Seniors will also keep the option of purchasing private supplemental coverage if they prefer.

Better coverage for more Vermonters at a lower cost — that is why we are moving as quickly as we can to achieve this goal. The report we just issued shows the unmistakable value, both financial and human, of a single payer system.

Robin Lunge is director of health care reform for the state of Vermont.