# Single payer healthcare in Vermont and Maine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363 "2017-03-17T00:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363/1 "2017-03-17T00:35:03Z")
[https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills\_128th/billtexts/SP012701.asp](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_128th/billtexts/SP012701.asp) There is a draft bill in the Maine legislature making the mention of single payer healthcare in Maine. A snippet:“Portions of the system will be based on the single-payor system in place in Vermont…”. What is the system in Vermont? I am in favor of single-payer, and would like to see this proposal fleshed out more. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363/2 "2017-03-17T00:42:19Z")
> **[Vermont health care reform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_health_care_reform)** > > In 2011, the Vermont state government enacted a law functionally establishing the first state-level single-payer health care system in the United States. Green Mountain Care, established by the passage of H.202, creates a system in the state where Vermonters receive universal health care coverage as well as technological improvements to the existing system. > On December 17, 2014, Vermont abandoned its plan for universal health care, citing the taxes required of smaller businesses within the st... It died: > **[Why single payer died in Vermont](https://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/single-payer-vermont-113711)** > > Vermont’s public failure is especially frustrating to single-payer advocates. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363/3 "2017-03-17T00:44:04Z")
> **[William Hsiao's single payer proposal for Vermont - PNHP](https://pnhp.org/news/william-hsiaos-single-payer-proposal-for-vermont/)** > > Statement by William C. HsiaoVermont State LegislatureJanuary 19, 2011Although advocates of the pure single payer model will find some problems with this report on a reform proposal for Vermont, there is very good news in this analysis. The report... > [@](#): > > The authors’ Option 2 is essentially PPACA with a “public option” added – a public insurance plan that competes with the private plans. Their analysis shows that it would have only a very modest impact on reducing costs, and an almost negligible impact on reducing the numbers of uninsured. Thus the bluster in support of the public option was misdirected. That energy should have been redirected to supporting single payer instead. > > Options 1B and 3 are almost identical. They are both single payer models that totally replace the private insurance plans. They have an “Essential Benefits Package” with an actuarial value of about 87 percent which is close to the typical employer-sponsored plans before they began introducing high deductibles. Their analyses shows that these plans would cover everyone without any increase in spending since the single payer efficiencies would be enough to pay for those currently uninsured or under-insured. So this is the really good news – single payer works (though read on). > > The primary difference in 1B and 3 is that 1B is publicly administered whereas 3 is administered by an independent board that contracts with a competitively-selected third party to manage provider relations and claims adjudication and processing. The authors state a preference for Option 3 claiming that it saves a little bit more money by requiring potential managers to compete for the contract. That is highly dubious and more likely was inserted to appease the market ideology of a sector of the twenty some odd contributors to this study. Considering this, I think that we can extrapolate the fact that the authors would also endorse Option 1B, since it is otherwise identical. I think they were looking at option 3. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363/4 "2017-03-17T00:48:16Z")
That’s really strange they would write the draft that way then. The 128th Maine Legislature began in December 2016. The bill also references the Colorado referendum of 2016, so I can tell it’s not just an old proposal brought back. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-payer-healthcare-in-vermont-and-maine/782363/5 "2017-03-18T02:00:24Z")
Not an Elections topic.