Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek To Establish Single Payer In His State

[FourScore]

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State
By Zaid Jilani on Sep 29, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) wants to design his own universal health care system.
As ThinkProgress previously reported, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) made history earlier this year when he signed into law legislation that would make his state the first state to lay the groundwork for a single payer health care system. In order to enact this system, the state needs a waiver from the federal health care law, which it will be able to obtain in 2017. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced legislation to move the waiver date up to 2014, an idea President Obama has endorsed.

Now, another governor is looking to take advantage of flexibility in Obama’s health care law in order to establish a single payer system. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) announced yesterday that he will be seeking a waiver to set up his own universal health care system in his state modeled after the single payer Canadian health care system that began in the province of Saskatchewan:

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Wednesday he will ask the U.S. government to let Montana set up its own universal health care program, taking his rhetorical fight over health care to another level. <...> The popular second-term Democrat would like to create a state-run system that borrows from the program used in Saskatchewan. He said the Canadian province controls cost by negotiating drug prices and limiting non-emergency procedures such as MRIs.

Local news station KRTV covered Schweitzer’s bid for a new universal health care system for his state. Schweitzer said that under his ideal system patients can still buy private insurance if they want to, but that it’ll be a “lonely place over there at Blue Cross Blue Shield” due to the superior public health insurance he plans to provide. Watch it...:

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/09/29/332031/montana-governor-waiver-for-single-payer/

[drm604]

1. This is how it will happen. One state at a time.

As others see it working and saving money and lives they will want to implement it in their states.

This is how it happened in Canada.

[Pirate Smile]

4. Exactly. This wouldn't be happening in Vermont & Montana if the "Kill the Bill" crap had worked.

[gateley]

2. LOVE Schweitzer! And Jag!

Have you guys talked him out of that "clean coal" notion yet, though?

And may I add, his State is a shining example of how it should be done. Don't he and the Republican Lt. Governor work as pretty much a TEAM?

[GOPBasher]

3. This is why progressives should like the health care bill.

It allows states to establish their own single payer systems. This way, it'll spread throughout the country.

[Pirate Smile]

5. They've got to stop providing the RW with an assist in demonizing the bill.

[drm604]

6. I think this was the plan all along.