Legislative Update

The first year of this legislative biennium will be coming to an end soon. The big question is, “What happened to move health care reform forward?”. The simple answer, “Not much.”
Health care committees dealt with bills to fine tune the Catamount health bill that passed last year. It was their belief that the best they could do this year was to set the stage so that the plan has a chance to work.
Susan Besio, the state director of implementation for the plan, is doing a superhuman job of coordinating and executing all of the pieces. If you want to keep updated check out the web site: www.hcr.vt.gov.
Jim Hester, former Vermont boss for MVP health insurance, was appointed director of the Health Care Commission. He is a consummate list maker and detail person. Hester seems to have a solid grip on things and he has a vision of how things should play out. He is making an effort to reach out to all the players in the Catamount drama. Stay tuned.
As a side note, as of this writing, it is not clear if the pharmaceutical bill making its way through the legislature will pass. Even if it passes, I suspect the Governor will veto it. The bill is a remake of the comprehensive bill that many of us worked on a few years ago; the bill to control drug prices and the practices of pharmaceutical companies. If it passes it would be landmark legislation. Sadly, the press has pretty much ignored this critical piece of health care reform.
The Catamount insurance product is slated to go into effect on October 1 and the timeframe for enrollment will begin about 4-6 weeks prior to that. The cost of the policy is still a moving target but we do know that the full cost of an unsubsidized policy will be very close to $400 a month per person.
Benefit details have not been revealed but we do know they have to be at least as good as what Medicaid offers. That is good coverage.
Even though coverage may be good it won’t help all of those Vermonters who still won’t be able to afford insurance under Catamount. That is why VCCH and others are pushing for changes to the plan. We want to see the one year waiting period eliminated. The plan forces you to be uninsured for a year before you are eligible. We also want to allow self-employed people such as farmers and artists to be able to buy in or be subsidized.
Will we get what we want? Maybe. Here’s where the hope lies. The Health Care Commission held a public meeting on April 24 to hear what the public wants for next steps for Catamount. About 50 people attended the hearing and the usual spectrum of opinion was aired, but with a twist. VCCH brought two of the people it featured in its newspaper ads (view them on our web site: www.universalhealthvt.org). It was a refreshing wake up call for legislators to hear from “real people”.
The Commission plans to hold similar hearings around the state this summer and fall to hear what Vermonters want changed in the Catamount plan. We will keep you updated with schedules and information on our web site.
The best case scenario is that all of the information gathered at these hearings will be turned into legislation to expand Catamount. That legislation will be introduced at the start of the 2008 session and be ready for implementation by the end of the first year of the life of Catamount.
Don’t forget that we still have a formidable obstacle to expanding Catamount and making it work. For all of his rhetoric, Governor Douglas will only support measures that conform to his right wing ideology. Catamount expansion will not make him happy. That means we may have to wait until the next election before Catamount will be able to fulfill its promise to become more than what it is now.
Your voice will be important in the process. VCCH hopes we can help your voice become strong by all of us working together.