As a immigrant from the UK, I find healthcare in the USA complicated, burdensome and riddled with anomalies.

However European systems are not perfect either, and I would ring a cautionary note about those. The British system specifically has in the last 20 years suffered from an inflated highly paid middle and upper management structure (bureaucracy). This has tended to divert significant funding from the lower tiers where medicine is actually practiced, and as a consequence driven more ideology than good medicine.

Perhaps the most cost-effective driver is in the pharma market allowing the UK as a single entity to negotiate drug and equipment prices.

However, I wish Vermont well in its endeavor, and look forward to seeing its success adopted by other states.

For me as a self-employed person, the $9K – 12K annual cost for health insurance is in effect a tax, plain and simple. It’s something that I can’t escape – like death and taxes. I pay for that along with federal and state income taxes. If this health insurance cost suddenly went away, my taxes would have to go up about 30% in my current scenario before I’d lose ground in this single payer system.

I don’t think the single payer people have adequately explained the real world favorable financial tradeoffs as I describe them here.

I’m nearing Medicare – fortunately – getting and maintaining health insurance has been a huge life hassle. There’s no excuse for this in the “world’s best country”. Fortunately I’ve had the means and brains to keep health insurance. Too many other people don’t, and that’s a socially costly problem which after many decades the health insurance industry cannot solve and never will.

You are welcome to live in the “Live Poor and Die Poor” state of NH. Since you are considering Hanover, obviously you are all set financially. Me, I will move my business and open up new businesses in VT when single payer becomes reality. As a dual Euro/US citizen, I can tell you that the European system of addressing health care works. Germany is second in exports behind China.
The US health care system is broken. No matter how much money you have, in many medical instances it will make no difference. I now wait three months or more to see one of my doctors. Accessing my health records is a nightmare. And the “for profit” motivation of doctors must constantly be considered each and every time I seek medical help.
In my business, and any business in the US, it is difficult to attract new hires because of the convoluted nature of health benefit offerings. Good employees won’t go to work elsewhere if they have decent benefits so I don’t get the best employees because of this wall.

We envy you – we have a republican dictator in Ohio by the name of
John Kasich, and he is ruining our state. Robbing from the middle
class, and the poor giving to the rich corporations. Paying his
staff huge salaries.

Keep up the good work you set a fine example for the rest of the country.

What then? Will the state then have to tax more to make up for the exodus? Could an economic death spiral begin? Now, I know that I am not writing this post for an audience that is likely to agree with me, but it is important, as Vermonters, to understand that actions actually have consequences. When society begins to adopt what is called “positive rights” — to wit, the right to low or no cost health care for those who can’t afford it, it is a slippery slope. Why not a comfortable house, or three square meals? Surely those are as important? The problem is that we as a nation are broke (again, check the facts). Can we as a people come together to make sure that the truly needy are looked after? Sure. But chasing the productive members of this society out by taking an ever increasing amount of their wealth will have predictable consequences.

Don’t get me wrong. I am happy to pay my fair share (which, at this point, is about 46%, all in, by a conservative calculation) – but when it gets over 50%, then I become a slave to the state and, well, that’s just not going to happen.

Now, fire away, unleash whatever invective you might – but the truth is, raise my taxes significantly and I’ll be corresponding from another state. Actually, I rather like Hanover, N.H.