Dean built health care plan for Vt. piece by piece
Lofty aim of fixing problem all at once was revised after failure
CECI CONNOLLY
Washington Post
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Early in his tenure as governor of Vermont, Howard Dean decided he was the man to fix the state's health care system. Having already diagnosed the problem -- too many Vermonters lacking care -- he settled on a remedy.
Dean, a doctor by training, would be the nation's first governor to guarantee health coverage to every state resident. And he would do it in a single legislative session, with one enormous bill.
It was ambitious, bold -- and an utter failure. In May 1994, five months after he began, Dean pulled the bill and declared the effort dead.
But it wasn't the end. Like a pragmatic physician who tries a new therapy when the first fails, Dean devoted much of the next decade to smaller, incremental changes aimed at filling the state's health care gaps.
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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/2003/12/21/news/7542201.htmDo we see a difference between candidates...the Dr. knows what it takes and the others "talk".