State Strategies assigment

Vermont Health Care Reform

Yitsy Serrano

Health Care Policy

Florida National University

Vermont Health Care Reform

The Vermont Health Care Reform was established in 2011 after the state government of Vermont enacted a law that allowed for a single-payer system in the United States. This law established a functional first-level single-payer health care system that has since been embraced in other states within the United States of America. The Green Mountain Care allows subscribers of Vermont’s health care reform to receive universal care coverage as well as upgrades to the existing system (William, 2010).

In 2010, the state of Vermont, under the provisions of S88 law passed by the legislature, was allowed to form a commission to study the health care provision and delivery techniques within the state. In this quest, Dr. William Hsiao, a Harvard University professor, who previously had been contracted to advise the Taiwan’s commission during the transition to single-payer system, was enlisted to provide three reform policies for the Vermont health care system. On June, William alongside Steven Kappel and Jonathan Gruber presented the single payer system proposal to the legislature of Vermont.

Following the proposal, H202 was introduced by Senator Mark Larson which the titles as Single-Payer and Unified Health System. On March 24, 2011, the bill was passed with a 94 against 49. Consequently, the Senate passed the bill with a 21 against 9. The Governor, the Vermont State Peter Shumlin, then signed the bill into law on the 26th of May 2011. The Green Mountain Care then followed after the signing of the H202. This was a state-funded insurance pool that was established to provide universal care to residents with the aim of reducing spending on health care.

It is important to note the Vermont Health Care Reform was established without a structured framework of funding and this is one of the reasons why it failed. The issue of paying for the reform became an issue when the prospective bodies failed to provide enough revenues to fund the program. The idea of funding the program was to increase the Medicaid funding by three percent and use the proceeds to set up the funding infrastructure for the Vermont Health Care Reform.

Holding other factors constant, the Vermont Health Care Reform was a sound idea. However, with political barriers and mismanagement, the reform did not pick up as expected. The failure of the Green Mountain Care significantly contributed to the fall of the program. The complexity and size of the initiative demanded a functional funding structure and a focused management system to ensure its full implementation (Joe, 2017).

However, the rise and fall of the Vermont Health Care reform have been a learning experience for most states as well as the federal government when it comes to implementing a reform of such a nature. The idea does not only revolve around the development of policies and reforms but the impacts it has on the people as well as the financial capacity needed to run such reforms. It is, therefore, important to have a flexible and adaptable system of management that takes into consideration the unpredictable nature of the impacts of such inventions.

In conclusion, the Vermont Health Care was a brilliant idea which has been embraced by various countries across the world. The state government of Vermont ought to have considered the establishment of a stakeholder network to oversee the management of the reform. Issues dealing with health are critical to the extent that they can result in the collapse in the state of credibility on state governments and the incapacity to implement such reforms.

Reference

William H., (2010). The Vermont Option: Achieving Affordable Health Care, USA

Joe V. (2017). The Rise and Fall of Vermont’s Single Payer Plan, Retrieved from http://www.cornellpolicyreview.com/rise-fall-vermonts-single-payer-plan/ on 10/6/2017