Health Care Affordability Act

[Guest Post by Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas]

On Thursday, the House Health Care committee passed out the Health Care Affordability Act on a 9-2 vote.

First Step - Catamount Health

The bill is a fundamental first step at controlling the inflation that drives our insurance costs. It does this by creating a system of coordinated care for chronic illnesses and by reducing the amount of bad debt and charity care in our health care system caused by uninsured Vermonters who need medical treatment. Unlike other some other places, in Vermont people are not turned away if they can’t pay. Hospitals must make up the shortfall by billing insurance companies a higher amount to cover this debt. Estimates are that this amounts to a 7% tax on all our insurance premiums.

The bill calls for the creation of a health plan that would be available to uninsured Vermonters. Catamount health, as it is called, would be an affordable health benefit modeled after the state employees’ benefit that is offered by CIGNA. The premium would be set according to a person’s income so it’s sensitive to one’s ability to pay.

Chronic Care Waits

The chronic care coordination system is called Vermont’s Blueprint for Health. Eighty percent of our health care dollars are spent on people with chronic conditions like heart disease, asthma or diabetes. Most of these people are not getting the right care at the right time which would prevent the advance of their illness. There are simple, preventive measures patients can follow which head off more expensive hospital interventions. The Blueprint would require care management to ensure more Vermonters get the front-end care that makes chronic conditions less expensive and keeps Vermonters healthier. Estimates are that up to 12% savings in our health care system can be realized simply by making sure people with chronic conditions are doing what the doctors prescribe.

The Blueprint effort has been underway for a while in a voluntary way, with doctors, insurance companies and Health Department officials collaborating on designing a system to get better care to patients. The bill calls for the Department of Health to accelerate the pace of reforms and to coordinate with Medicare, Medicaid, the new Catamount health and private insurance companies. The plan will eliminate barriers to people getting the care they need.

Bill is on the Way

This health reform bill will travel next to the House money committees and the will be presented on the House floor. After House passage the bill will travel to the Senate for committee consideration, then on to the governor’s desk.

Not Enough

It was a grieving process for me to come to the realization that we would not be able to pass a sweeping restructuring of the health care system. Spiraling health care costs are crippling businesses, town budgets, school budgets and household budgets. It’s such a no-brainer that something must be done! This bill is a good faith effort to make positive change for a portion of Vermonters who don’t have any health care security. That, to me, is more valuable than playing a political game with the governor. The bottom line is Vermonters need to send a clear message that this is not enough, we must do more.

What Can You DO?

There are several actions you can take:

1. Call your legislators
   Ask your legislators (no matter what party they belong to) in the Vermont House and Vermont Senate to support this bill, and to work for a more comprehensive bill in the next session.
   
2. Call the Governor's office.
   Ask the Governor to sign this bill when it reaches his desk.
   
3. Write letters to the editor.
   Let your neighbors know that a first-step health care bill is on its way, and their support is needed.
   
4. Call into local radio shows.
   Bring this issue to the attention of listeners. If no one calls, they won't hear about it.
   

DFA Endorses Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch

Today, Democracy for America endorsed two Vermont candidates for federal office: US Congressman Bernie Sanders, who is running for US Senate, and Vermont Senator Peter Welch, who is running for US House. Peter Welch's endorsement came after a new experiment in the endorsement process: an Instant Runoff Vote among Vermont members of DFA.

Here are some excerpts of what Jim Dean, Chairman of Democracy for America had to say on today's endorsements:

On Bernie Sanders:
When my brother was Governor, he and Bernie didn't always agree. But they always fought for Vermont. From health care to family farms, to education and the environment, Bernie and Howard worked to make Vermont a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Bernie's opponent is trying to distance himself from Bush but the truth is that he supports the Bush warrantless spying program, tax cuts for the wealthy and outsourcing jobs while he opposes prescription drug re-importation from Canada and raising the minimum wage.

We can't risk another lock-step Republican in Washington.

On Peter Welch:
The Republicans relied on secret meetings to recruit the current Adjutant General of Vermont's National Guard as their foot soldier in this race. Their candidate has refused to give a position on the Iraq war, torture and choice while amassing a war chest from supporters. Even Roy Blunt, of the DeLay-Blunt corruption machine, has sent her money.

The choice in Vermont's congressional race is simple: Send another foot soldier that will solidify the Republican grip on power or send a message that change is on the way.

And thankfully, change and integrity is what State Senator Peter Welch will bring to Washington.

Peter Welch isn't a newcomer to the fight for Vermont's working families. He's been serving Vermont with an unwavering ethical compass for decades. He has led the fight for better health care, renewable energy, and fiscal responsibility. He's passionate about exposing the President's misguided policies. And we can count on Peter to follow in Bernie's footsteps as a champion for working Americans on Capitol Hill.

Both candidates had a few minutes at the microphone. Peter led off with some strong statements about the wrong direction this administration and their Republican cohort in Congress is taking our country in, and the need to stop the Bush train in it's tracks (which I kept translating as needing to stop the Bush train-wreck, but I digress...).

Bernie made it abundantly clear that what passes for politics in Washington today is not politics as usual, but the excessiveness of an extreme right-wing cabal looking out for the interests of billionaires at the expense of the middle class and the rest of hard-working Americans.

On the Press

After the speeches, there was a brief Q&A for the press, in which reporters attempted to make an issue of Martha Rainville's "coincidental" announcement of her candidacy this AM. Peter did an excellent job of not taking the bait, and left it to the voters to think about whether her highly unusual choice to run for office while on active duty is appropriate.

Clearly, the press is paying special attention to the Welch race, so today is the time to write those letters to the editor. If you really want to make a difference take this small step today. The more the merrier, and the sooner the better. If you write now, while the focus is on the race, there's a better chance that your letter will be published. Let's make sure our neighbors will be aware of what adding another lock-step Republican to the Congress will mean to Vermonters and the nation. Make them aware that a continued backward march - away from our Constitutional rights - can only lead to losing the race for the future. The only way to bring honesty, independence, and integrity back to Washington is to elect honest, honorable, and independent candidates - Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders.

For more information, or to volunteer or donate:

Welch for Congress: http://www.WelchForCongress.com

and

Bernie Sanders for Senate: http://www.Bernie.org

Orange County Isn't Rainville Country

[Info provided by Bob Bland]

Martha Rainville, the annointed candidate of the Delay-Hastert House Republican machine, has finally been flushed from her pretense of indecision and will make a tour of most of Vermont.

When she leaves White River, however, it looks like she'll take a swing right into New Hampshire since she will be skipping an Orange County announcement on her way to St. J. I guess she checked out the I91 corridor and discovered that there is hardly a right-winger to be found on this side of the river anymore. (The full schedule follows in case you want to pay her a visit -- she's snubbing Chittenden too, so I guess we're in good company.) And where is Ruth Dwyer these days??

So what do we know about Martha the Candidate?

We knows she's been burning up the airways (and the ozone layer) shuttling down to DC, meeting with Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, picking up mysterious PAC checks from the Friends of Jack Abramoff, and raising over $100,000 while still pretending to give 100% of her time to the Vermont National Guard, and getting name recognition over the bodies of slain Vermonters.

We also know that Karl Rove has identified this as one of his top ten races and expects to arrange for the lobbyists, oilmen, and war suppliers to send checks for $3 million up to help Martha out. (Better they should spend that money on people who can't afford to heat their homes, or perhaps effective body armor for the troops!) And Rove's local scion, Jim Barrett, will trot out one of Rove's Rolling Bulldozer[TM] smear campaigns against Peter Welch (not to speak of Bernie Sanders).

So What Can You Do?

Write a letter to the editor about Candidate Rainville in the next couple days. All Vermonters know about her is that she's great at standing on the tarmac sending our kids off to wage the President's unjust war, and cuts a lovely figure at their gravesides when they return.

I'd urge you to let readers know where she stands on issues, but she has been keeping her views private - probably because they are more in line with those of Texas voters than Vermonters.

So the best letters would be about snubbing Orange, getting millions from lobbyists who will expect something in return, and huddling up with the people who have let our nation down.

For your LTE-writing pleasure:

editor@OurHerald.com
jonews@kingcon.com
http://www.timesargus.com/Opinion/SubmitLetter/
forum@vnews.com

Another way to help is to make a contribution at www.welchforcongress.com to help counteract those Martha Millions.

Watch for house parties for Peter in your area, or better yet, hold your own. For those who missed it, Peter attended the OCDC meeting Tuesday.

While You're at it, You May Want to Rain on the Rainville Parade

Monday, Feb. 13

8:30 a.m., St. Albans Historical Museum, 9 Church St., St. Albans
12:15 p.m., American Legion Post 31, 33 Washington St., Rutland
4:15 p.m., American Legion Post 13, 225 Northside Dr., Bennington

Tuesday, Feb. 14

8:30 a.m., American Legion Post 5, 32 Linden St., Brattleboro
10:30 a.m., Blish Flooring, 261 River St., Springfield
12:15 p.m., American Legion Post 26, 129 S. Main St., White River Junction
4 p.m., Black Bear Tavern and Grille, 205 Hastings Hill, St. Johnsbury