The Essential Next Step in Health Care Reform

Written by: Doug Racine on Mar 10, 2010 9:30 AM EST

I am excited to tell you about something I've been working on for several weeks. All of us candidates have been saying how essential it is to achieve universal access to affordable health care -- and I've been figuring out how to actually make that happen.

The escalating cost of our current system is crippling our state, our families and our businesses. Health care in Vermont will cost $1 billion more in 2012 than it does today if current trends continue -- this is a crisis, and we cannot let it continue.

That is why yesterday, I introduced a revised version of S.88 -- so that we can design the system that will deliver health care to Vermonters, and answer all of the questions that need to be answered to implement this new system. My bill calls for the state to hire independent advisors, who will be overseen by a panel of Vermonters, to provide the state with a "menu of options." These advisors will design three different health care systems -- fully design them, not just study them -- and deliver back to the legislature a full implementation plan for each of the three possible systems.

This will not be easy. Change comes with uncertainty and risks. But the option of doing nothing is simply not acceptable. We are now paying the price of a broken system, and that price will only go up. The time to move forward is now. Please join me and help me to build the system we need.

There is more information on my website, and when you visit you can sign on as a "citizen co-sponsor" of the bill. I'll also be posting a copy of the bill as introduced on the site very soon. It will change as it moves through the process - probably several times - but I am committed to the goal of access to affordable, quality health care for every Vermonter.

I hope you will read the bill, sign on, and work with me to create the new system that will lead the way to true reform.

http://dougracine.com/about/positions/health-care/plan

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