SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Economists Throw Weight Behind Universal Health Care in Vermont
'Publicly financed health care systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs and greater equity,' reads letter delivered Thursday
Feb 26, 2015
It is not only possible, but financially and economically advantageous to implement a publicly financed healthcare system in Vermont, according to an open letter signed by more than 100 economists and delivered Thursday to lawmakers at the Vermont State House.
"As economists, we understand that universal, publicly financed health care is not only economically feasible but highly preferable to a fragmented market-based insurance system," reads the letter, whose signatories include Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; Richard Wolff of New School University; and Julie Nelson of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
It continues: "Health care is not a service that follows standard market rules; it should be provided as a public good. Evidence from around the world demonstrates that publicly financed health care systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs and greater equity."
In December, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin abruptly abandoned his much-lauded plan to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state, saying moving forward with the proposal would be too costly.
But the economists' letter, presented in tandem with a report (pdf) from the the Vermont Workers' Center and the New York-based National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), shows that that universal health care can be implemented--affordably--in Vermont within the next few years.
"By moving from private, market-based insurance to public financing of universal care," said Anja Rudiger of NESRI, "we flip the way we pay for care: people contribute based on their ability, so that low- and middle-income people pay a smaller share of their income on health care than the wealthy--the opposite of the current system."
The plan proposes taxing wealthier people's unearned investment income in order to give a bigger break to low- and middle-income families. It also proposes implementing a graduated payroll tax that takes into account the difference between the top 1 percent of wages and the bottom half of wages in each company, thereby requiring large employers and businesses with highly unequal salary structures to pay more than smaller and more wage-equitable businesses.
The letter points out: "Public financing is not a matter of raising new money, but of distributing existing payments more equitably and efficiently. Especially when combined with provider payment reforms, public financing can lower administrative costs, share health care costs much more equitably, and ensure access to comprehensive care for all."
The Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign, which mobilized in Vermont and has since spread across the country, is working with state legislators to introduce a bill for public health care financing, building on the Green Mountain Care proposal that Shumlin ditched last December. That law was passed in 2011 but did not include a financing plan.
Thursday's letter indicates that the grassroots movement has not lost momentum. As the NESRI report declares: "Healthcare financing is a matter of justice and human rights."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
center for economic and policy researchdean bakerhealthcarehuman rightspublic healthsingle-payervermont
It is not only possible, but financially and economically advantageous to implement a publicly financed healthcare system in Vermont, according to an open letter signed by more than 100 economists and delivered Thursday to lawmakers at the Vermont State House.
"As economists, we understand that universal, publicly financed health care is not only economically feasible but highly preferable to a fragmented market-based insurance system," reads the letter, whose signatories include Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; Richard Wolff of New School University; and Julie Nelson of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
It continues: "Health care is not a service that follows standard market rules; it should be provided as a public good. Evidence from around the world demonstrates that publicly financed health care systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs and greater equity."
In December, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin abruptly abandoned his much-lauded plan to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state, saying moving forward with the proposal would be too costly.
But the economists' letter, presented in tandem with a report (pdf) from the the Vermont Workers' Center and the New York-based National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), shows that that universal health care can be implemented--affordably--in Vermont within the next few years.
"By moving from private, market-based insurance to public financing of universal care," said Anja Rudiger of NESRI, "we flip the way we pay for care: people contribute based on their ability, so that low- and middle-income people pay a smaller share of their income on health care than the wealthy--the opposite of the current system."
The plan proposes taxing wealthier people's unearned investment income in order to give a bigger break to low- and middle-income families. It also proposes implementing a graduated payroll tax that takes into account the difference between the top 1 percent of wages and the bottom half of wages in each company, thereby requiring large employers and businesses with highly unequal salary structures to pay more than smaller and more wage-equitable businesses.
The letter points out: "Public financing is not a matter of raising new money, but of distributing existing payments more equitably and efficiently. Especially when combined with provider payment reforms, public financing can lower administrative costs, share health care costs much more equitably, and ensure access to comprehensive care for all."
The Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign, which mobilized in Vermont and has since spread across the country, is working with state legislators to introduce a bill for public health care financing, building on the Green Mountain Care proposal that Shumlin ditched last December. That law was passed in 2011 but did not include a financing plan.
Thursday's letter indicates that the grassroots movement has not lost momentum. As the NESRI report declares: "Healthcare financing is a matter of justice and human rights."
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
It is not only possible, but financially and economically advantageous to implement a publicly financed healthcare system in Vermont, according to an open letter signed by more than 100 economists and delivered Thursday to lawmakers at the Vermont State House.
"As economists, we understand that universal, publicly financed health care is not only economically feasible but highly preferable to a fragmented market-based insurance system," reads the letter, whose signatories include Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research; Richard Wolff of New School University; and Julie Nelson of the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
It continues: "Health care is not a service that follows standard market rules; it should be provided as a public good. Evidence from around the world demonstrates that publicly financed health care systems result in improved health outcomes, lower costs and greater equity."
In December, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin abruptly abandoned his much-lauded plan to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state, saying moving forward with the proposal would be too costly.
But the economists' letter, presented in tandem with a report (pdf) from the the Vermont Workers' Center and the New York-based National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), shows that that universal health care can be implemented--affordably--in Vermont within the next few years.
"By moving from private, market-based insurance to public financing of universal care," said Anja Rudiger of NESRI, "we flip the way we pay for care: people contribute based on their ability, so that low- and middle-income people pay a smaller share of their income on health care than the wealthy--the opposite of the current system."
The plan proposes taxing wealthier people's unearned investment income in order to give a bigger break to low- and middle-income families. It also proposes implementing a graduated payroll tax that takes into account the difference between the top 1 percent of wages and the bottom half of wages in each company, thereby requiring large employers and businesses with highly unequal salary structures to pay more than smaller and more wage-equitable businesses.
The letter points out: "Public financing is not a matter of raising new money, but of distributing existing payments more equitably and efficiently. Especially when combined with provider payment reforms, public financing can lower administrative costs, share health care costs much more equitably, and ensure access to comprehensive care for all."
The Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign, which mobilized in Vermont and has since spread across the country, is working with state legislators to introduce a bill for public health care financing, building on the Green Mountain Care proposal that Shumlin ditched last December. That law was passed in 2011 but did not include a financing plan.
Thursday's letter indicates that the grassroots movement has not lost momentum. As the NESRI report declares: "Healthcare financing is a matter of justice and human rights."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.