VT governor-elect to ask Obama for a waiver to implement single payer

[eridani]

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/89208/

Governor-elect Peter Shumlin says he's optimistic that he can persuade the Obama administration to grant Vermont a special waiver to implement a single payer health care system.

Shumlin says he's already raised this issue with the president, and he'll do it again when he visits the White House early next month.

VPR's Bob Kinzel reports.

(Kinzel) The possibility of Vermont winning a federal waiver to put a single payer health care system in place was a top issue in the gubernatorial campaign.
Republican candidate Brian Dubie said that 2014 is the earliest a waiver could be issued under the new national health care reform law.

But Democrat Peter Shumlin argued that Vermont's congressional delegation could petition the Obama administration to make it happen sooner.

Speaking on VPR's Vermont Edition, Shumlin says he's already spoken to the president about this issue.

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd. I hope this happens; it would be a good test case for

the rest of the country.

[Solly Mack]

2. k/r

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[benfranklin1776]

4. That would be tremendous!

And an excellent example for other states to follow.

[druidity33]

5. testing the waters here in MA too...

several non-binding ballot questions about Single Payer issues.

:)

[MH1]

6. Nice to know at least one state is sane.

[NotThisTime]

7. Oh don't worry we have our crazies, Shumlin won by 3500 votes out of 250000....

We've got our little tea party crowd who stand on the corner every damn day, we've got our morons who think Reagan Economics are the way to go...the R was a true Reagan follower in that sense...

But, I hope Shumlin is successful for us, it would be a great step forward.

[ingac70]

8. Vermont gets single payer and I'm moving there. n/t

[MA Mom]

9. Word. nt

[BlueCaliDem]

10. Wasn't it part of HCR? That any state that can show they have a better health ins. plan

could opt out of the Federal HCR plan?

California has already passed SB 810, California OneCare, but they held back from putting it on the governor's desk because Schwarzenegger had vetoed single payer before.

Now that we have Governor Moonbeam {:loveya: } back with Gavin Newsom as Lt. Governor, I have no doubt they will sign it into law, giving all Californians single-payer health care that would cut the budget deficit down by $8 billion in the first year.

But I never knew they had to ask the Federal government for a waiver to opt out of the Federal HCR.

[eridani]

11. Not until 2017, unfortunately. If a state wants to do something before that

--they have to get a special waiver.

BTW, you are going to have to lobby Gov Moonbeam, hard! You'd better believe the insurance companies will be doing that.