The purpose of writing this is to express my grievance over Governor Shumlin’s recent dismissal of Act 48, the Vermont Law, passed in 2011 by Mr. Shumlin himself –who rode into office on the wave of public support for this law in the first place! This law states that all residents of Vermont have the right to receive the best, high quality and publicly financed medical care– in other words, Universal, or Single-Payer Health Care. He has now abandoned us, having already missed several deadlines for putting various parts of it into affect so that it would be fully implemented by 2017. In his own words, on Dec 17, 2014, Governor Shumlin claimed that “…Now is not the time…”
What??! Exactly when IS a the time, Mr. Shumlin?? …after people have put off preventative care for so long, because of the out-of-pocket costs, that their future cancer has metastasised? …after their teeth have completely rotted and fallen out, due to inability to pay for regular dental care? …or after a home is foreclosed on, because of the uncovered costs of a stay in hospital?
He says that “Now” isn’t the time. He is claims that we simply cannot afford it! To this I must ask: How can we NOT afford it? Vermonters are already paying for it, ten times over, with the costs to our state caused by the fall-out of unpaid medical bills, lost homes, lost work productivity, as well as from unfair tax laws, and more. To the Governor I say, “Now IS the time! Now is the BEST time!”
Imagine if the costs your currently pay for insurance, and the amount your employer pays, offered the very highest and best medical coverage, with everything included: emergency, preventative, dental, occular, etc. Now imagine that it was also responsible for helping thousands of others, less fortunate than you, to receive the exact same quality of care. What do you imagine is possible if there were fewer people in your community suffering from preventable illness? Your whole community would benefit. A healthier population can simply do more, be more, and provide more in return to the overall well-being of that society.
I believe the cost savings of a healthier population is better for everyone. Healthier people are more productive, miss fewer days at work (due to personal illness and the illnesses of family members); healthier people enjoy a greater quality of life and thus improve the quality of a society overall. The savings alone needs to be brought into the equation, as much as the negotiating “buying power” of a Single Payer agent, which can negotiate lower costs overall from the Insurance tycoons.
I know I am losing some who might start thinking of “socialism”, with eery overtones of “communism”— but please, take the time to really investigate those terms, and plumb them right along with the Fox (Faux) So-Called News propaganda. There are social Democracies all around the globe. Of all the Industrialized Nations, the US remains as the only country to use this archaic, poverty-inducing, Health-For-Profit model, where only the wealthiest can afford “Cadillac health care”, while the rest struggle to afford the best “rust bucket care” possible.
Don’t we all deserve the same, highest quality “Cadillac” care? Should our doctors turn us away because we drive the wrong model of Insurance? I am willing to bet there are plenty of doctors out there who feel their Hippocratic Oath is diminished by our system. These doctors can’t always provide the kind of care they they know they should give, because a for-profit business has decided it won’t pay the costs of that care. In my own experiences I have several doctors, and even my dentist, who have waived as much of their personal fees as possible in order to help me get the care I needed (a special thanks to the dentists at Esty Dental! Thanks for making sure I can still smile in public!).
I urge you to ask any of your friends from a country with socialized medical care if they would prefer lower taxes along with the US model of health care. If any one of them actually prefer it, I think I’d faint. Even the wealthiest of those countries seem to prefer having a healthier society over lower taxes. Ask them, please! Don’t know anyone? Call the School for Internat’l Training/World Learning and ask for someone, anyone, from a socialized Democratic county what they think…
If you didn’t know, the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”) was actually the brain child of a Koch Bros think-tank, and originally used by GOP 1% darling, Mitt Romney, in Massachuesetts. The purpose of the ACA was really about forcing people to buy into the for-profit health care system. There is no equality of care offered or implied. The very cheapest “rust bucket” is emergency care, with no preventative care involved.
We MUST tell Shumlin to change his course and DO THE DAMN JOB that he was elected into office to do in the first place. The money IS there. And a fairer tax plan does exist. He’s just been using models and formulations provided by his Big Business donors, that are based on the desires of his Big Business, supporters.
That’s right. He is turning out to be just the same money-grubbing 1%Elitist who is looking to grease his palms with even more, More, MORE, by brown-nosing his even wealthier-but minority in number- patrons, rather than support the many thousands upon thousands who are responsible for allowing him to be in his position in the first place.
Personally, I’m sick and tired of the same oligarchal controls over my government. I’m ready to do my part to remind Shumlin of the facts, with my efforts and my actions as a non-violent Activist. This Thursday, Jan 8th, I will be participating in a Rally and Direct Action at the State House in Montpelier, organized by the VT Workers’ Center, and I invite you to join in the Rally inside the Statehouse.
When the People Lead, the Leaders follow. We keep proving that, but apparently some of our legislators, and our Governor, especially, have forgotten again. It seems they need to hear it, loud and clear. Our votes do matter. There are more of us than there are of Big Funders. We can make a difference when we speak with one voice, with one message: Yes, Governor, “Now IS the Time.” Now get back to work.
Peace,
Skyler Wind
Brattleboro
Yes.
Very true. Nicely put, too.
You are right that we are already paying for this, just in other ways. And that the Affordable Care Act is just a law to force people to buy a product from people they chose not to buy it from before.
I have friends and family members that praise the medical system and want everyone to see a doctor, but do nothing to advocate for universal care so everyone can be covered. They don’t seem to see the connection between uninsured and the prices they pay for their insurance, nor do they see the effects of lost homes, jobs, etc. That happens to “other” people… people who likely made “bad” decisions… not them.
My guess: Shumlin must be listening to advisors aiming him for Bernie’s seat if and when it is vacated.
thank you. please join in the Rally!
Thanks. I appreciate your response. I hope you can join the Rally on Thursday. The message we want to express is, of course, Now IS the time. If you want, you can make a poster that says that, and follow it with what exactly makes it the right time. IE: Now IS the time…to be able afford my prescriptions, or Now IS the time…to save my home from being foreclosed on because my partner had cancer.
UPDATE: NAIB funded by the Koch Bros
wow. In the wee hours of this morning, after posting my opinion, above, a follower of my blog left a comment with a link to this incredible tidbit of information…information that leads me to question Shumlin’s decision even more. In light of this information, can he explain again exactly why “now is not the time”?
I learned that just under 50% of his campaign financing came from Businesses, and that more than 50% of those business total donations actually came from Out-Of-State Business! Then I learned that the National Association of Independent Business is organizing an Activist movement of its own. Remember? Corporate entities –which includes Businesses, big and small– were granted “personhood” in the landmark decision known as Citizen’s United. So, apparently, this Association of “persons” is gearing up for a spate of activism. And guess what they want to do…
They intend to REPEAL Act 48, the Law we passed in 2011.
Now go ahead, and take a wild guess as to which 1% Elitists are responsible for funding NAIB, and steering them into this slimy action plan.
Yup. The Koch Bros.
So again, I’ll ask Shumlin to explain to me exactly why he thinks “now is not the time”? hmmm?
Obviously, now IS the time…
…for us to remind all our legislators that they do not have the right to dictate to us whether they’ll do the job they were asked to do, because they think it is too difficult! For heavens sake, in what country are we living?? Act 48 is the law! Plain and simple. The residents of Vermont have not discussed whether we still want it, nor have we discussed whether we want to put it on indefinite hold. And it is not up to Shumlin, or any other public servant, to simply ignore the laws we have in place, for any reason. In fact, I believe he is breaking the law, isn’t he? Do our public servants have the right to simply disregard any law because they think “now is not the time”? Does anyone?
Between Shumlin’s refusal to abide by the law, and the fact the Koch bros have set their sights on our beautiful state, extending their Oligarchical overreach into it to overpower the decisions and dictates of Vermont residents, the outrage ought to be palpable. (as the bumper sticker says, “if you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention”).
We don’t need violence, but we sure do need action. C’mon people, it’s OUR state, OUR govt, OUR law, OUR rights. And Now IS the Time.
Governor Shumlin was probably wise in dropping his support
The plan is not exactly the Cadillac of healthcare, but it is better than most plans enumerated.
There is a reason why Act 48 is not affordable, which I will go into another time. Governor Shumlin was probably wise in dropping his support.
I don't think Shumlin dropped
I don’t think Shumlin dropped his support overall, just said it wasn’t wise at this time. And he had some good points.
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I can’t say I’ve followed the ins and outs of this news, mainly for the simple reason that when I try to follow these things I get lost. But I sense that the OP hasn’t followed it either, as the writing is mainly a manifesto of ideology and does nothing to refute the governor’s economic arguments other than via conspiracy theories.
All I know is that if Peter Shumlin is in the pocket of the Koch Brothers then this country is in a bigger mess than anyone can really imagine. Just because the man serves and listens to all different interests of the state, or even beyond the state, doesn’t mean ipso facto he’s in their pocket. Sure, I’m open-minded enough to accept such a “fact” if actual investigative details were to be brought out. But just because Shumlin does something that in my opinion took a whole lot of courage and could be, or is close to, political suicide by this announcement doesn’t mean he’s slyly serving right-wing interests. He’s serving the State’s interests, and that includes acting with a fair amount of fiscal responsibility on his part.
If the OP can bring out the numbers that he is not seeing, I’m sure he’d give him/her a place at the table right along with the business interests. But my bet is that yet another rally ain’t gonna be all that of a productive way to argue the point.
Steven Brill on Health Care Cost
I said in my just previous post that I have a hard time following the details of this very complicated debate. But today I was able to.
http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/05/375024427/americas-bitter-pill-makes-case-for-why-health-care-law-wont-work