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    However, Vermont’s innovative proposal still leaves room for further improvement. Specifically, a single payer system alone does not address “fee-for-service” reimbursement for providers, which may encourage overuse and does not recognize quality and value. Other concerns also exist. Generally, private insurance rates have been substantially higher than Medicare rates, and providers worry that […]

VPR By PETER HIRSCHFELD Vermont lawmakers are at a critical juncture in their quest for a publicly financed health care system. And they’re bringing aboard a $10,000-a-month consultant to help them get it right. The Legislature already has a small staff of fiscal analysts to call on. But as lawmakers undertake the most ambitious health care […]

Times Argus Online: MONTPELIER — Lawmakers have begun looking at how to finance a single-payer health care system that Gov. Peter Shumlin hopes will be his crowning achievement. Shumlin, a second-term Democrat, wants to launch a universal, publicly financed health care system known as Green Mountain Care in 2017. He has repeatedly told lawmakers that the […]

 Lauren Glenn-Davitian, executive director of CCTV’s Center for Media and Democracy, interviewed Rep. Chris Pearson, P-Burlington, on Feb. 3, 2014. Representative Chris Pearson (Burlington), member of the VT House Committee on Health Care provides an overview of current health care discussions, prospects for financing proposed Vermont’s Universal Health Care system, use of Results-Based Accountability in […]

Vermont Public Radio The man in charge of developing the financing mechanism for Gov. Peter Shumlin’s single-payer health care plan made his first appearance of the year before the Legislature Friday. That man is Michael Costa, a lawyer whose title in the Shumlin Administration is deputy director of health care reform. But Costa isn’t tipping […]

Rutland Herald By WILSON RINGThe Associated Press MONTPELIER — The House Health Care Committee on Friday began lining up some of the “heavy lifting” tasks that will have to be finished before the state can roll out its first-in-the-nation single-payer health care system scheduled for 2017. The committee heard from legislative staff members and outlined […]

Rutland Herald By Neal P. GoswamiVermont Press Bureau MONTPELIER — Gov. Peter Shumlin took the rare step of appearing before a legislative panel on the opening day of the legislative session, reasserting his commitment to a single-payer health-care system. The state is in the midst of implementing Vermont Health Connect, the state-operated online health- insurance […]

Times Argus By Peter HirschfeldVermont Press Bureau BARRE — Even now, Joyce Werntgen can’t quite recall how her new friend convinced her to host counseling sessions for struggling teenagers inside her home. Werntgen was a single mother of three young children at the time, and wasn’t particularly interested in taking on the task. But she […]

Times Argus MONTPELIER — Much has been made of all the tumult surrounding the rollout of the federal Affordable Care Act. But for a significant swath of the Vermont population, the arrival of the new law has brought with it the solution to many of their health care problems. Revised income eligibility limits mean that […]

VTDiggerThe Democratic members of the Vermont House of Representatives met at the Statehouse Saturday for a taste of what’s to come during the second half of the two-year biennium. Gov. Peter Shumlin told Democratic lawmakers to “plow the ground” for a single payer health care system this year and “take the criticism, take the bullets,” […]