Jason Gibbs, the governor's spokesman, alerted us to an interview with Gov. Jim Douglas that appears in the latest issue of Health Affairs. It's titled "Comprehensive Health Care Reform in Vermont: A conversation with Governor Jim Douglas" and can be read
here.
What's interesting about this interview by James Maxwell is how Douglas explains the origins and development of
Catamount Health, the new health insurance program for Vermont's uninsured. (If you are uninsured and need coverage, check it out
here. ) It's interesting to note, too, how Douglas explains to a national audience how
Catamount is paid for and who he credits with political leadership (besides himself) in making compromise possible.
Here's one paragraph to ponder:
Catamount Health is a premium subsidy program that allows the uninsured to purchase affordable coverage through their employer or directly through Catamount. These reforms are a key part of my strategy to make Vermont a more affordable place to live, work and raise a family. The reforms are part of my Affordability Agenda ......I wonder if Democrats remember
Catamount as Douglas' idea, as this paragraph seems to suggest, or their idea?
The interviewer asked Douglas what compromises had to be made to reach agreement following the stalemate of 2005 that ended with Douglas' veto of Green Mountain Health,
Catamount's muscular political predecessor. Douglas answers the extremes on the ideological spectrum had to be rejected -- especially, he notes, the extreme he couldn't stomach, a government-run, taxpayer-financed health plan. Only later in the interview does Douglas explain how he had to give in on how to pay for the program. The health reform package that he signed into law includes an employer assessment of one dollar per day for each uninsured employee. "I didn't support the assessment, but it was part of the compromise."
Who does Douglas credit by name for leadership in the reform effort? Sorry Jim
Leddy and John Tracy, it's U.S. Rep. Peter
Welch, D-VT, formerly president pro
tempore in the state senate. Douglas called
Welch "one of our most important partners." Douglas explains what
Welch brought to the table. "It was clear to me that he wanted to accomplish
something and to get a bill that we could all feel good about."
Later, Douglas spreads the praise more broadly. "I would give much credit to my Democratic colleagues -- it took both parties, and in the end the legislators saw that we had to abandon the extremes."
The governor is certainly getting a lot of national mileage out of
Catamount Health. Remember he already collected an award from
AARP for his critical role in reaching the compromise in 2006 that resulted in
Catamount Health. Anybody jealous?
-- Nancy
Remsen
