[MT] Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State

[ProSense]

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State

By Zaid Jilani

As ThinkProgress previously reported, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) made history earlier this year when he signed into law legislation that would make his state the first state to lay the groundwork for a single payer health care system. In order to enact this system, the state needs a waiver from the federal health care law, which it will be able to obtain in 2017. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced legislation to move the waiver date up to 2014, an idea President Obama has endorsed.

Now, another governor is looking to take advantage of flexibility in Obama’s health care law in order to establish a single payer system. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) announced yesterday that he will be seeking a waiver to set up his own universal health care system in his state modeled after the single payer Canadian health care system that began in the province of Saskatchewan:

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Wednesday he will ask the U.S. government to let Montana set up its own universal health care program, taking his rhetorical fight over health care to another level. <...> The popular second-term Democrat would like to create a state-run system that borrows from the program used in Saskatchewan. He said the Canadian province controls cost by negotiating drug prices and limiting non-emergency procedures such as MRIs.

Local news station KRTV covered Schweitzer’s bid for a new universal health care system for his state. Schweitzer said that under his ideal system patients can still buy private insurance if they want to, but that it’ll be a “lonely place over there at Blue Cross Blue Shield” due to the superior public health insurance he plans to provide. Watch it:

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[Whisp]

1. so this is why the Bachmans and those others are frightened

to death of 'Obamacare'.
That I can understand.

It's those others that are railing on and giving false information about the healthcare act that has me perplexed.

[Larkspur]

2. Another reason why I love this man!

Please run for President in 2016, Gov. Schweitzer!!!

[ClarkUSA]

6. No, thanks. The last DLC/New Dem President was quite enough. Although Al From would be thrilled.

[Whisp]

3. this isn't getting enough attention.

I don't have to wonder why.

[ProSense]

5. The Think Progress post is

getting a lot of attention and it's posted at Daily Kos.

[Whisp]

8. from Kos:

Obama's health care plan (27+ / 0-)
may inadvertently cause single payer to be adopted by most blue states, which if successful from a cost and voter satisfaction point of view, may usher in universal single payer.

Employers may find universal tax support of single payer cheaper, making blue states more competitive than red states for new businesses.

I am not saying that was the plan, but it may be the inadvertent result.

==
I don't think it was inadvertent, do you?
:D

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Hot damn!

The waiver provision was always one of the best points of the Obama health plan.

[ClarkUSA]

7. Key Phrase:"another governor is looking to take advantage of flexibility in Obama’s health care law"

Thank you, President Obama. I'm so glad ignorant crazies like PUMA Jane "Blackface" Hamsher and her Republican ally Grover Norquist failed to Kill The Bill, although it wasn't for lack of braying.

[Whisp]

9. I am reading the Kos link on this - here have a peek at this:

(Cynical moment: Any time now this comment thread will be hijacked by health reform purists
that will arrive to denounce Gov. Schweitzer, Barack Obama, Max Baucus, Joe Liebermann and
the ghost of FDR for NOT having a single payer system in place NOW (if not last week) paying
retro-active health benefits for those deceased in the last five years....which we would have had
if Hillary had won.....and if you don't agree with them on every single point you are not a REAL
liberal/progressive/American/humanitarian.
It bugs me to think how close I might be to correctly anticipating this these days on DailyKos.)
===
:D

[ClarkUSA]

10. lol! Take a look at this ignorant drivel from FirePUMALake about this:

"With the Republicans controlling the state legislature, it is unlikely that Schweitzer’s call for a better universal system will result in the state adopting such a plan anytime soon; but it is important that there are prominent political voices in the Democratic Party advocating progressive reform rather than defending the poorly designed and highly unpopular Affordable Care Act."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2024259&mesg_id=2024259

They don't know or refuse to acknowledge that it's because of the Affordable Care Act that this is even possible! I guess that would take admitting that their Dear Leader aka. PUMA Jane "Kill The Bill" Hamster Face was wrong. And we both know that will never ever happen.

[Whisp]

11. hehe. expected to find a kerflewie from that end of the PUMA & hamster anatomy.

the fur is flying, the howling is rising in pitch....

[ClarkUSA]

12. Makes you wonder just who the GOP clients of PUMA Jane Hamsher's media company are, eh?

Their disinformation campaign about President Obama is a 24/7 operation, after all. Much like the RNC.

[Whisp]

13. kick!