Gov. Jim Douglas said Monday he was focused on implementation of the national health care reform package.

“We don’t know exactly what it is yet,” he noted, since the Senate has yet to vote on the reconciliation package that became the compromise between the U.S. House and Senate. Douglas said Republican senators “although they don’t have the numbers, they believe they may have some parliamentary arguments” to make about the pending reconciliation bill.

Still, Douglas has asked his health care cabinet to analyze the pair of health care bills to identify starting dates. He also wants his staff to determine if the Vermont Legislature needs to make any law changes in response to the federal measures and if there are grants or funds offered that the state ought to seek.

As chairman of the National Governors Association, Douglas said he will work on making the implementation as smooth as possible for states — not an easy task.

“A number of governors and legislators are going to be resistant,” Douglas predicted.

“I still regret the lack of partisanship,” Douglas said. As a result of the divisive politics associated with the bill, implementing it, he said, “is going to be a less smooth process.”

- Nancy Remsen

Labels: Gov. Jim Douglas, health care reform