The arrival of Human Right’s Day (Monday) is especially noteworthy this year; international public health groups such as the World Health Organization are seriously considering the possibility of achieving universal health care throughout the entire world in the not too distant future.
Despite being the wealthiest nation in the world, the United States stands out as perhaps the only advanced nation not to have universal health care. Human care as a basic right is now taken for granted in such countries as Taiwan, Malta and Slovakia, to name but a few, but continues to be elusive in our nation.
Vermonters have good reason to be proud of the efforts of the past several years to move toward a single-payer financing system that will provide coverage to all its citizens. The results of the recent election reaffirmed that Vermonters remain firm in their resolve to move forward on this issue.
Hats off to the Legislature for enacting Act 48, Gov. Shumlin for consistently supporting a single-payer financing system, and Green Mountain Care Board for its herculean efforts to effect the transition.
JASON KELLEY
Hartford