Step Forward in Vermont’s Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.jwjblog.org/2010/04/step-forward-in-vermonts-healthcare-is-a-human-right-campaign/

By Allison Fletcher Acosta, on April 8th, 2010

In 2008, the Vermont Workers’ Center/JwJ launched the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign. On May 1, 2009 their “Healthcare Is A Human Right” Rally at the Statehouse drew over 1,200 participants and was the largest weekday rally in the state capitol’s history. They are gearing up now for an even bigger rally this May 1st. Over the past few months the campaign has organized a series of People’s Forums across the state with almost 100 state legislators and over 1,000 total participants. They have released two videos about the campaign, “If Vermont Leads, the Rest of the Nation Will Follow” and “We Ain’t No Fools Day.”

Yesterday, the Vermont State Senate voted 28-2 in favor of the S.88 healthcare bill. The bill calls for the Legislature’s Health Care Reform Commission to hire consultants who will design three health care models with implementation timelines beginning in July 2012. One of the three models must be a single-payer system that is government-administered and publicly financed. All three of the models must meet the Healthcare is a Human Right principles of universal, comprehensive, affordable health care that is transparent in design efficient in operation and accountable to the people its serves.

Peg Franzen, an activist with the Vermont Workers’ Center, was at the vote.

“Several Senators came up to me after the vote and said it was because of us that this happened. It’s amazing what people working together can do. Remember when we started the Campaign, we were told that it could not happen, that the legislature was not going to talk about single payer this session and now it is passed the Senate and on to the House.”