S.88

Everyone knows that the health care system needs to change. Insurance coverage is too expensive or insufficient for many, drug costs are too high, and hospital costs can bankrupt a family.  Federal health care reform will help, but… is it enough? How do we make sure Vermont’s health care system reflects our care for each other and strengthens our communities?  S.88 answers this question in two ways.

First, it moves us toward a single system of health care, by authorizing Vermont’s health care reform commission to hire one or more consultants to produce at least three such designs.  One must be a single-payer option (meaning publicly financed and government-administered), and one must be a public option (meaning that you can choose between private insurance and a government-run plan).  Every design must take into consideration federal reforms and meet a list of principles and goals that stress fairness, equitable and sustainable financing, and equal access for all.

For example, all Vermonters should have access to comprehensive, quality health care. We should be able to choose our primary care providers. The health care system should continually improve and its leaders should continually eliminate unnecessary costs. And the financing of health care must be fair, sustainable, shared equitably, and adequate to cover costs. 

But this in itself is not enough. Every developed country in the world, whether single- or multi-payer, publicly or privately run, faces unsustainable increases in costs. Therefore S.88 also furthers Vermont’s ongoing reform efforts, because improving the way health care is delivered and reducing costs are key to building strong communities.

The Blueprint for Health, at the center of our reform efforts, organizes care around the patient and his/her primary care provider, who might be a family doctor, nurse practitioner, gynecologist or someone else. These are supported by a “community health team” that might include a nurse, nutritionist, behavior specialist, or other specialist. These people together make up the patient’s “medical home” and work together, supported by electronic health records, to keep the patient healthy.  Instead of only getting paid per procedure, the participating practice also gets a per-member-per-month fee to support its work—and this model has been proven to lower costs by reducing emergency room visits and hospital admissions. S.88 furthers statewide expansion of the Blueprint.

Investing in the future, S.88 also provides for pilot projects to manage costs at a regional level. It also limits increases in hospital spending and directs a workgroup to address the shortage of primary care providers, 

Finally, it says that if the federal government does not release to the states the information it will be collecting from pharmaceutical companies about free drug samples given to physicians, then the companies must provide that same information to Vermont’s Attorney General. And, because people choose lower-calorie items when they know the calories, S.88 requires fast-food chains to post the number of calories on their menus and menu boards. This information will allow people to make healthier choices and help reduce obesity and its attendant health and cost issues.