Once upon a time
By RICHARD DAVIS Brattleboro Reformer
Once upon a time, there were two single payer health care bills floating in the Vermont House and Senate, H.100 and S.88.
At the start of the legislative session, supporters of the bills had reason to believe they would be discussed in committee and that they might move forward. One of those who made a commitment to those bills was Sen. Doug Racine, D-Chittenden, chair of the Senate Health Care Committee.
A week ago, Racine introduced a revised version of S.88. Revised may not be the right word. The bill bears little resemblance to the original S.88 although the tentative title includes the label S.88.
Racine held hearings all week and a form of his bill was voted out of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee last Friday afternoon.
Keep in mind that Racine is one of five Democratic candidates for governor and he needs to distinguish himself from the pack. Anytime a candidate does anything during a campaign, motives come into question.
I have no doubt that Racine is sincere in his efforts to reform the health care system. He has made it clear that he understands that major change needs to take place and he has even expressed support for a single payer approach. But the starting point for his bill falls too far from the mark in much the same way that Obama’s health care bill started out being a compromise of a compromise.
S.88 was only a bare bones single payer bill and the hope was that it would be beefed up with credible numbers showing not only cost but also showing how broad-based taxes would pay for the plan. Instead, the bill was moved in a different direction.
Racine’s bill creates a five member panel to oversee a study of three possible ways to create a new health care system for Vermont. One of those plans would be single payer. The first obvious comment is, "Not another study! Haven’t we studied everything to death? What is left to study?"
The numbers do always change and a study would at least provide up to date numbers if the assumptions that the study is based on are plausible. But how can the state afford to do such a comprehensive study, one that would require hiring high-priced outside experts, at a time when legislators are trying to cut $150 million from the budget?
A study would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and might even cost close to a million as some inside the Douglas administration suggest. There is no way that the state is going to find that kind of money to do another health care study. So where does that leave Racine’s bill?
It will now move on to the Senate Appropriations Committee and then it could possibly be voted out of the Senate and passed onto the House. My sources have told me that Racine’s bill has created some degree of tension among Democrats.
There have been a few health care bills floating around this session and Racine’s bill may be perceived by some as political grandstanding at the expense of other’s proposals.
I have no doubt that the Democrats will work out their differences and come up with something that is agreeable to their majority. But is that what we really want? Whatever form the Racine bill takes it is clear to me that its chances of actually being passed and being implemented are as likely as Gov. Douglas championing a massive tax increase bill.
The Senate needs to thank Racine for his efforts, trash his bill and reinstate the original S.88 and then have the Joint Fiscal Office calculate estimates of costs and estimates of revenue from broad-based taxes of implementing a statewide single payer system.
Senate President ProTem Peter Shumlin, D-Putney, also a candidate for governor, has the power to determine the fate of this bill and it is up to us to tell him what we want. Now is the time to speak. Contact Shumlin at senprespt@leg.state.vt.us or call 802-828-3806.
Richard Davis is a registered nurse and executive director of Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health. He writes from Guilford and welcomes comments at rbdav@comcast.net.