Green Mountain Health Insurance

Businesses seek health care answers

Portions of Vermont's health care reform act will begin taking effect this year. Wednesday in Montpelier, employers had a chance to voice some of their concerns about the plans available through the state's insurance exchange.

"I'm no expert," was a common refrain from employers who spoke on the complicated issue of health care reform. Legislators say a communications specialist may be needed after all to combat misinformation.

One by one, employers and industry representatives addressed members of the Vermont House and Senate. On the path to single-payer insurance in the Green Mountain State, business leaders say they want several insurance options to be available on the state-approved and federally subsidized online marketplace.

"I think they'll be happy with the plans that are offered as long as they're their plans," said Waterbury Municipal Manager William Shepeluk.

"If the exchange is better employers will choose it," said Sara Byers of Leonardo's Pizza.

Many called for high-deductible plans to be available on Vermont's forthcoming online listing of approved insurance coverage. They say, it's all they can afford.

Legislators said they had ruled out so-called bronze plans. "That, to us, means you're under-insured," said Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison County.

Ayer, the Chairwoman for the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, says they may have to reconsider that position.

Based on some of what she heard Wednesday though, she thinks the governor should reconsider allowing the rule-writers to hire a public information specialist. "There's still a lot of misperceptions, a lot of misinformation out there," she said.

Ayer said the Green Mountain Care Board is a well-qualified team of medical experts. But, she said they're not skilled at communicating their efforts with the public.

Ayer said asking the board to run its own public awareness campaign is like asking an all-star basketball team to run the concession stand during games.

Green Mountain Daily:: The Republican War on Women

Former Vermont Governor, Howard Dean, is speaking out against the decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cave in to right-wing pressure and pull funding for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood.

The Governor, who has served on the Board of Planned Parenthood, has also distinguished himself as Democratic Party chair during the historic period that brought Barack Obama to the presidency.

Could this be evidence that the Democratic message machine is readying itself to reclaim the party's role as the unapologetic champion of social justice?

In his time, Howard Dean has been one of the best "messaging" men in the Democratic Party.  If this signals a new resolve by the Democrats to go toe-to-toe with Republicans, redefining and reclaiming the moral high-ground, we could still witness a great resurgence of grassroots enthusiasm of the sort that brought record numbers of young people to the polls in 2008.  

#Occupy Wall Street has demonstrated that there is a political will for social justice on the rise in this country that could yet be mobilized before the November election.

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich is loudly proclaiming that President Obama is waging "a war on religion," because he won't allow Catholic institutions to discriminate against their non-Catholic employees who wish to exercise the universal right to obtain birth control through their employee health insurance policies.

Despite evidence that Americans' support for a woman's "Right to Choose" is growing, that message just doesn't carry the hyperbolic clout of wording like "Right to Life ,"  which we have ceded to the other side with barely a whimper of protest.  

Why haven't  we appropriated that power word, "life," for our own purposes?  Why don't we women demand for ourselves and our children the "Right to a Livable Life?