Vermont Single Payer Health Care?

What is Vermont's Single Payer Health Care Bill? That seems to be the question over the past few weeks. There are many more questions than answers regarding this Bill. For those seeking to read the Bill, please click here: Vermont Single Payer

The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerence has posed the following question regarding this legislation:

We are concerned that reform of Vermont’s $5 billion health care industry is being hurried through the legislative process potentially exposing the State to many unintended consequences that may be hard to back up from.

We are concerned that the proposal does not include a mechanism for who will pay for this and how much? Answers to funding questions are critical.

We all agree that cost containment is critical and that we need to get health care costs under control. But how does this bill do that? How, exactly, will costs be contained? Will it result in health care rationing? What are the benefits that will be covered and omitted by he proposal?

Currently Government (through Medicare & Medicaid) reimburses at a rate below cost (40%-70%). How does the proposal address the cost shift that currently exists?

What happens to Vermont’s program if Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements fall? How will the employers/employees be held harmless if this occurs? How will Vermont retain and attract doctors?

Companies who are self insured could see a double digit increase to labor costs, or be forced to drop their program in favor of the state medical plan at a higher cost. Will these companies be held harmless in this legislation?

Will the single payer system take away the high-value insurance coverage enjoyed by teachers, state and municipal employees and other organized workers? Or will this plan create a two tiered system, with the taxpayers financing both the gold-plated heath care benefits for government workers, and a less robust system for themselves?

How will the single payer system achieve its claimed efficiency benefits, when providers still have to bill Medicare, insurance carriers offering privately-paid supplementary coverage, the insurance plans of non-Vermonters, and perhaps carriers of high-value insurance for teachers and municipal employees?

How will two-income families accommodate paying potentially double or triple their out-of-pocket costs - through a payroll tax - for coverage that is much-less robust than their current plans?

Ninety-three percent of Vermonters already have health insurance and half of the remaining 7 percent are eligible for Medicaid. Is this the only option for insuring the uninsured? Why aren't we waiting to see if federal health care reform works first.

How can a five member part time board possibly manage the complexities of a $5 billion health care system given the range of responsibilities?