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Time - Man of the Year
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1992-09-10
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THE WEEK, Page 23SOCIETYHealth Care for All
Vermont adopts a plan to provide universal medical treatment
As a specialist in Internal Medicine, Dr. Howard Dean knows
that the quality of care soars when patient and physician trust
each other. As Governor of Vermont -- and the only Governor in
the Union who is a doctor -- Dean also knows that trust has to be
earned. So the Governor knew he had his work cut out for him
when he set out to persuade insurance companies, physicians and
increasingly savvy medical consumers all to agree on a
health-care reform plan. Last week Dean succeeded. With the
blessings of the state legislature, the Vermont Medical Society,
and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, the Governor signed
a bill that will guarantee basic medical treatment to all
Vermonters by 1995. In doing so, he made Vermont one of the few
states to break the deadlock on health-care reform.
The plan calls for the establishment of a new Health Care
Authority, which will consolidate the work now being done by
several different agencies. Any savings that result from cutting
overhead will be used to help finance coverage for the poor. In
addition, the three-member panel will negotiate prices with the
state's doctors and hospitals and try to contain costs by
limiting the number of expensive specialty procedures.
Poor mothers and their children will be the first to
benefit. In addition, the Health Care Authority has two years
to develop two different proposals for implementing and paying
for the state's universal coverage. Under one plan, a select
group of insurers would negotiate for the state's business.
Under the other, Vermont would adopt a Canadian-style
health-care program in which the state acts as its own insurer.