Discussion of the Vermont’s Health Care for All Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contact:

Gail Francis

Blue Hills Solidarity Network

(715) 945-2164

gailmfrancis@yahoo.com



Discussion of the Vermont’s Health Care for All Law



The Blue Hills Solidarity Network is hosting a discussion about Vermont’s recently-enacted universal healthcare law, which has made Vermont the first state to move toward a single payer healthcare system. Jonathon Kissam of the Vermont Workers’ Center will offer a presentation on the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign--the grassroots movement that made this pioneering legislation possible. The presentation will take place at the Rice Lake Public Library on Sunday, July 10, at 7:00 p.m. A discussion on how we might work towards universal health care in Wisconsin will follow.



“The work of the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign has put Vermont on a path to a system in which every Vermonter can get the healthcare they need when they need it, and the financing of that system is shared equitably by all,” says Kissam, one of the chief strategists of the winning campaign. “This is a huge step forward, not just for our state, but for our nation. We hope that this will spread throughout the country, just like Vermont’s other pioneering actions -- the abolition of slavery and the establishment of universal public education.”



The new law, signed by Gov. Shumlin on May 26, 2011, states that Vermont will create a publicly financed health care system, Green Mountain Care. Green Mountain Care will provide comprehensive, high-quality coverage for all Vermont residents as a public good, regardless of income, health status, or employment. Green Mountain Care will be implemented once the requirements of the federal health reform law have been fulfilled, along with several other conditions. The Vermont legislature will decide about the financing of the system and the health benefits package by 2013.



“By moving toward a publicly financed health care system based on human rights principles, the people of Vermont are setting a powerful example for the rest of the country,” said Anja Rudiger, program director at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, a national non-profit organization. “This achievement is the result of an emerging grassroots organizing model that is inclusive, led by the people and based on human rights principles, not on money and special interests.”



The lecture is being presented as part of the Blue Hills Solidarity Network’s Forward Thinking Lecture Series.





Background:



Vermont Workers’ Center

http://www.workerscenter.org



The New York Times, June 6, 2011: Vermont’s Move Toward Single Payer Health Insurance

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/vermonts-move-toward-single-payer-health-insurance/



First Universal Health Care Bill in U.S. Marks Success of Vermont's Human Rights Movement (Huffington Post):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anja-rudiger/first-universal-health-ca_b_858721.html



"Adventure In Democracy," op-ed from Montpelier Times-Argus:

http://workerscenter.org/adventureindemocracy



Feature from Seven Days magazine:

http://7dvt.com/2011vermont-workers-center