When Con Hogan, former Secretary of Human Services under two Governors (Richard Snelling and Howard Dean), talks about our health care industry, he is clear we must improve it. But he also identifies some challenges in doing this. He points out that our legislators may fear undertaking the task of creating a single payer system on their own because it is a huge job that requires technical expertise. So, Con suggests we “empower a panel of experts and informed citizens to undertake the planning of a [single payer] bill that results in an ‘up or down’ vote.” (Watch or read the full 20-minute talk by Con on the benefits of a single payer system.) If the vote is “No”, the panel would have to go back to the drawing board.
There is historical precedent for this approach. When Taiwan instituted their single payer system in the mid-nineties, they realized that while the political leaders wanted universal health care, they didn’t have the expertise to devise the nuts and bolts of the system. They invited Professor William Hsiao, a Harvard economist, to chair a task force whose mission was to design a national health plan for Taiwan. Because Professor Hsiao had no political aspirations and came from outside Taiwan, it was easier to get the work done. Here’s a link to Professor Hsiao’s interview about creating a single payer system for Taiwan. Why don’t our legislators invite him to Vermont?
Here is an article that explains more of how they created the system and the benefits of it.
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2003/may/taiwans_single_paye.php
Excellent article! I enjoy your site very much.
I appreciate the insight, and I think the writer definately knows their stuff… has better info than the wiki on the subject!