Democracy Now: Vermont Governor Signs Single-Payer Healthcare Law
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a healthcare reform bill Thursday that will make Vermont the first state in the nation to offer single-payer healthcare. The Vermont Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims to stem the rising cost of healthcare and provide universal coverage. Gov. Shumlin held a signing ceremony in Montpelier.
Gov. Shumlin: “We gather here today to launch the first single-payer health care system in America. To do in Vermont what has taken too long—have a healthcare system, the best in the world, that treats healthcare as a right, and not a privilege. Most importantly, a healthcare system that is sustainable, that spends our healthcare dollars making Vermonters healthy—not on insurance company profits, and not on waste and inefficiency. We will get this done in Vermont.”