By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER – Rep. Tom Koch, a supporter of a free-market health care system, had an unlikely ally when he urged House lawmakers to vote against an omnibus health care reform bill Thursday afternoon.

In arguing against a bill that would cap hospital budgets, expand the Blueprint for Health program and design new health care models for Vermont, the Barre Town Republican quoted from an e-mail by Deb Richter, a Montpelier doctor and supporter of a single-payer health care system.

"It’s really a blueprint for the government to take over health care in this state," said Koch. "This bill may be hazardous to your health."

Strange political alliances were formed Thursday as the House – just weeks away from the end of its 2010 session – debated a massive health care bill that is supported by some single-payer advocates and derided by others.

Richter, a past president of the organization Physicians for a National Health Program, e-mailed supporters and lawmakers Thursday morning and urged them to either change S.88, the health care bill, or reject it.

"The over-loaded House version is about changing the delivery of our health care by adding layers of costly bureaucracy," Richter wrote. "The House Health Committee’s claims that this will save money are disingenuous. No evidence of cost-saving exists."

That’s the portion of the e-mail that Koch quoted on the House floor as lawmakers began what was expected to be a two-day debate on the bill. And while Koch even said on the floor, "I agree with Deb Richter" – that union was for different reasons.

Richter supports the Senate version of S.88, the bill that began in the committee of Sen. Doug Racine, D-Chittenden, a gubernatorial candidate, and would hire a consultant to design at least three new health care models – including a single-payer system – for Vermont.

"Although the bill was not a commitment to a single-payer system, we endorsed it because we believe the information from this study is critical to choosing the best system for Vermont," Richter wrote in her e-mail.

Koch, however, said he thought the $300,000 price tag to do these designs is a waste of taxpayer resources, "especially in a time when we are short on money."

"I’m getting tired of government by consultant," Koch said.

Members of the House Health Care Committee, who are responsible for many of the additions to what started as Racine’s health care bill, worked hard to defend their bill in face of the opposition.

Rep. Paul Poirier, I-Barre City, a member of the House Health Care Committee, said the bill is necessary because the new federal health care law requires states to set up insurance exchanges by 2013.

He also defended spending $300,000 for a consultant to design a new health care model, saying that final result will be far greater than the Legislature’s previous studies of health care models.

"I would challenge someone to tell me where in this bill it says anything about a study," Poirier said. "There is a difference between studying the need for a bridge and designing a bridge. This is an action bill. It talks about designing, not studying."

There seemed to be strong confusion over one portion of the bill which would require pharmaceutical companies to report to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office when they give out free drug samples to doctors and medical professionals.

When House lawmakers broke for quick party caucuses mid-Thursday afternoon, several GOP leaders incorrectly told their members that doctors would be required to give the information to the state. At least one House Republican said doctors might need to hire more staff for the additional paperwork.

"This will hurt low-income and moderate-income Vermonters," said Rep. Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, who moments earlier told the caucus that "doctors have to disclose the samples from pharmaceutical companies."

Rep. Francis "Topper" McFaun, R-Barre City, pointed out to the caucus that it would be the drug companies’ responsibility to collect and deliver this information; not Vermont doctors. He said the requirements are similar to the new federal health care law.

Rep. George Till, D-Jericho, a member of the House Health Care committee and a Vermont doctor, tried to dispel the misinformation during the floor debate. He said there is a "useful place for drug samples," but worried that they could be misused.

He made it clear to House lawmakers that the bill in no way bans free drug samples.

"What we have in the bill does not restrict doctors from getting samples and it does not restrict doctors from giving out the samples," Till said.

Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com