VT House and Senate reconcile health bill: Undocumented workers to be covered

[cali]

Vt. lawmakers resolve immigrant health care issue
By DAVE GRAM , 05.03.11, 08:36 AM EDT

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont Senate negotiators dropped an amendment to bar illegal immigrants from coverage under a new state health care program, delivering a victory Monday evening to human rights activists who had rallied repeatedly at the Statehouse to demand the change.

Instead, the three senators serving on a House-Senate conference committee suggested studying the issues surrounding providing health care to an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 undocumented farmworkers in the state, as well as others in Vermont illegally. Their House counterparts readily agreed to the proposal.


The fight over coverage for illegal immigrants was a late-session storm in otherwise smooth sailing for the centerpiece of Gov. Peter Shumlin's legislative agenda: a publicly financed, universal health care system that had broad support from Shumlin's fellow Democrats who control both houses of the General Assembly.

After the Senate last week adopted the amendment proposed by Sens. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, and Richard Sears, D-Bennington, activists with the Health Care is a Human Right Campaign of the Vermont Workers' Center, who had been providing strong grass-roots support for the health reform measure, turned on the senators.

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/03/business-us-vt-health-care-immigrants_8446801.html

I love my state. I love this legislature.

[Kber]

1. Well done VT

[murphyj87]

3. Canadians.....

Canadians, who have had universal single payer health care since 1966, congratulate Vermont on joining us in progressing beyond, and eliminating, insurance run health care, to health care which is fair and available to all, saving millions of lives that would otherwise be lost, as Canadian health care has for Canadians, leading to a four year longer life than the rest of Americans, which Vermont will have now too.

[Kber]

4. Thank you and I hope that other states (including my own) aren't too far behind

:)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Yay for Vermont! K&R

[trud]

5. provide healthcare, then deport them. n/t

[ismnotwasm]

6. Right on

Good on ya VT!

[Lance_Boyle]

7. Not sure about other nationalities, but the illegals from Mexico

are entitled to free healthcare in their country of legal residence. That's where they should seek it.

[bullwinkle428]

8. And Freeper heads get another opportunity to explode this week!