rssHouse Panel Votes to Let States Adopt Single-Payer Health Coverage
Friday, July 17, 2009 at 2:35 pm
- 12 Comments
Federally sponsored single-payer health care might be off the table as Congress debates its health reform strategy this summer, but if some House lawmakers get their way, there would be nothing to prevent states from offering that model.
The House Education & Labor Committee voted today in favor of an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), eliminating legal barriers that might prevent states from adopting a Medicare-style system of health coverage.
The vote was 25 to 19, with support coming from an odd mix of liberal Democrats who support single-payer on its merits and conservative Republicans who want to preserve the rights of states to regulate themselves.
The vote is largely symbolic. Cash-strapped states likely won’t be able to rustle up the funding to cover all their residents without federal help, even if they did support the concept politically. Still, some health care groups are cheering the House vote nonetheless. The California Nurses Association, for example, issued a statement calling the vote “a historic moment for patients.”
If the provision were to become law, CNA argues, single-payer supporters could move their lobbying battle from Washington to state capitals.
Kucinich offered his own take on the significance of the push.
“By getting rid of the for-profit insurance companies,” the Ohio liberal said in a statement, “we can save $400 billion per year and provide coverage for all medically necessary services for everyone in the U.S.”
12 Comments
Comment posted July 18, 2009 @ 6:36 am
This is the most important development in the health care debate. It is important both because the measure was supported by both Democrats and Republicans and because it holds out the possibility that we may be able to prove that a single payer plan can work just as it was proven, province by province, in Canada.
Comment posted July 19, 2009 @ 11:30 pm
Hooray for Kucinich!!! I don't think the states can do it but then, for the ones who want to, if they form a consortium or coalition, then they could maybe do it. Some states have plans now, such as Oregon, for people of almost no income or means, and such plans could be expanded and extended with means-tested fees. Take me for instance. I have got Medicare but I don't have a supplemental so I cannot really afford any attention. So it's basically there for catastrophe and then I would have a balance I couldn't pay either. For this I pay about $100/month. Don't know who all is using Medicare but not me. So far. With a supplemental and dental and vision for an amount I could pay, I'd be feeling much better about it all.
Comment posted July 20, 2009 @ 1:35 am
I believe that the single-payer option will eventually overtake all other options because of cost. Insurance companies should be eliminated. We should adopt best practices from Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Ireland, etc.
Pingback posted October 31, 2009 @ 4:37 am
[...] which would allow states to set up single-payer health care systems modeled after Medicare, passed the House Education and Labor Committee in July, but was stripped out by Democratic leaders as they [...]
Pingback posted October 31, 2009 @ 5:13 pm
[...] "The [committee] vote was 25 to 19, with support coming from an odd mix of liberal Democrats who support single-payer on its merits and conservative Republicans who want to preserve the rights of states to regulate themselves," The Washington Independent noted at the time. [...]
Pingback posted October 31, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
[...] “The [committee] vote was 25 to 19, with support coming from an odd mix of liberal Democrats who support single-payer on its merits and conservative Republicans who want to preserve the rights of states to regulate themselves,” The Washington Independent noted at the time. [...]
Comment posted February 8, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
I think the panel is doing absolutely right by giving attention towards the health of every single player. It must be keep going.
Comment posted February 9, 2010 @ 2:19 am
Health payer in my opinion is equivalent to health insurance.
Best Colon Cleanse
Colon Cleanse
Comment posted February 9, 2010 @ 4:45 am
I think the panel is doing absolutely right by giving attention towards the health of every single player. It must be keep going.
Pingback posted April 4, 2010 @ 12:30 am
[...] “The [committee] vote was 25 to 19, with support coming from an odd mix of liberal Democrats who support single-payer on its merits and conservative Republicans who want to preserve the rights of states to regulate themselves,” The Washington Independent noted at the time. [...]
Pingback posted June 19, 2010 @ 10:45 am
[...] “The [committee] vote was 25 to 19, with support coming from an odd mix of liberal Democrats who support single-payer on its merits and conservative Republicans who want to preserve the rights of states to regulate themselves,” The Washington Independent noted at the time. [...]
Pingback posted November 19, 2010 @ 9:45 pm
[...] 5.House Panel Votes to Let States Adopt Single-Payer Health Coverage « Federally sponsored single-payer health care might be off the table as Congress debates its health reform strategy this summer, but if some House lawmakers get their way, … Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), eliminating legal barriers that might prevent states from adopting a Medicare-style system of health coverage. http://washingtonindependent.com/51669/house-panel-lets-states-adopt-single-payer-health-coverage [...]
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
