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Gov. Peter Shumlin (D-VT) (photo: origamidon)
On the monumental issue of how to deal with rising health care costs, there are no two political leaders in America whose actions are more diametrically opposed than Democratic Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. Ryan wants to privatize Medicare, destroying America’s extremely popular and effective single-payer system for older Americans, while Shumlin is working to expand the benefits of single-payer health insurance to everyone. The national Democratic Party will soon have to decide which of these leaders’ diverging paths they intend to follow.
Ryan’s vision is to save money by destroying Medicare
When faced with the issue of ever-growing government spending on health care, Ryan’s plan, which has now been fully embraced by the national Republican Party, is to simply have the government stop helping the most vulnerable get health care. The Republican plan would simply radically slash spending on Medicaid resulting in states ceasing to provide insurance for the poor, old and highly disabled. It would also privatize Medicare, which would significantly increase the cost while providing seniors with insufficient vouchers.
The Republican plan does nothing to deal with the underlying problems that cause our public and private health care costs to grow rapidly, it would simply shift the burden from the government on to the people who are already struggling.
Shumlin’s vision is to save money by giving everyone the benefits of a Medicare-like system
Shumlin, by putting Vermont on a path toward universal health care, is to doing the exact opposite of Ryan. Instead of ending Medicare, he is trying to expand a program like it to every individual in the state. Not only would this provide everyone with quality health care, but it would also radically reduce overall health care spending. By unifying and standardizing health insurance in the state, his plan will produce significant savings by slashing administrative overhead and waste. It would also prevent the insurance and drug companies from ripping off Vermonters.
The idea that we can use universal single-payer to give most Americans better insurance, and at the same time radically reduce health care spending, isn’t based on some ideological, unproven fantasy like Paul Ryan’s plan. It’s a completely achievable goal proven by many other first-world countries that use single payer to cover everyone for a fraction of what we spend on health care.
Will national Democrats choose to move the country toward embracing Ryan’s “more pain” ideas, or firmly demand the country move toward Shumlin’s proven solutions?
With the deficit talks in full swing, the national Democratic Party will soon face the choice on how to save money–and the choice can’t be more stark. Sadly, the Democrats clear desire to reach a “grand bargain” with Republicans indicates that the country is not going to be moving in the right direction.
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Thanks Jon.
Maybe Shumlin can give the Democratic response after the President’s next speech.
LOL -
the game is to hide Obama’s support for the GOP – it is not get the Democratic Party fighting him about going in the direction the GOP wants.
Well, in a few years when I leave the state where I currently live, I’ll probably be heading for Vermont. It’ll be a cold old age, but it may be better in other respects than anywhere else in this country.
Yes, I’m sure that housing prices in Vermont just went up by leaps and bounds. They’ll have to be building fences to keep all the other Americans from trying to sneak over their borders. Jeebusssss.
BUT: as I understand it, Vermont needs to get some waivers from Obama’s group in order to enact their single-payer. Do I think those waivers will be granted? No, I do not.
Vermont plus the Medicare Maryland waiver to force all providers to take the same amount for a given service solves so many problems – no way Obama will get behind it.
We have Obama feeding the media to prepare us for Medicare cuts – of course only for “waste” as determined by “death panels” :-) He will hate to do this because his heart is with us – and the GOP debt limit crisis forced it – just like the GOP unemployment crisis forced continuing the $4 trillion loss caused by not allowing the law to go back as scheduled to the Clinton tax rates. Indeed there will be no discussion of a trade policy that produces jobs for the US – Obama radio will just be on just how poor Obama is forced to fight for retraining aid for all those workers that lose there jobs because of his trade policy – and forget about simple enforcement of trade related job preserving tax laws.
But we must vote for Obama – because the other fellow is so much worse (so far a true statement about the various other fellows suggested to date).
On the plus side, I think they can leave their northern border open.
True enough. Its a pity because “Replace Obamacare with Medicare” is a winning slogan. :o)
First… let me quote and article from yesterday.
“Yet Vermont won’t be able to fully achieve this goal without multiple waivers from federal health care programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Part D and the new Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“If the Obama administration does not grant all the waivers Vermont needs, the system could fall short of its true potential. Large segments of the state’s population wouldn’t be properly brought into the new unified plan.”
I believe anyone who has been paying attention would recognize this as classic… FAKE POLITICAL THEATER.
The VT Democrats pass a bill which has virtually NO chance of actually succeeding at it’s intended goal because it can be rendered worthless by those in power in Washington [the Obama administration]and various other corrupt agencies. The Democratic party lords all know this… and the Health Insurance industry knows this. The Democrats have no intentions of going against one of their campaign contributors and benifactors… the Health Insurance Lobby.
The unltimate failure of this state law to really change anything… was BAKED INTO THE CAKE from the beginning. The Democrats are just stringing along their supporters… as they have done a gazillion times before.
Anyone who plays along with this charade is playing right into the hands of these serial game players… and falling prey to the false “hope and change” game being played by the Democrats.
Ultimately the ONLY thing that will get results in the will be the act of VOTING these people out of office. We then deprive their corruptors of their tools to loot the country. Nothing will ever REALLY change until that happens.
Both the Democrats and Republicans are corupt to the core. The time has come to stand up to corruption. We simply can not continue to elect and reelect corrupt Democrats and corrupt Republicans over and over and over.
or replace Obama with anyone else! :)
Just an observation – Paul Ryan could be the evil twin of actor Matthew Morrison who plays Will Schuester in Glee.
and it isn’t based on a neoliberal ideological, unproven fantasy like the democrats so-called “public-option” plan.
ding ding ding.
NHE (national health care expenditures) and the fed gov. defict are TWO VERY DIFFERENT things.
the two should NEVER be conflated. and not just because it confuses both issues, it’s a critical distinction because NHE is a REAL issue and fed govt deficit reduction is a manufactured issue.