Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) is forgoing his goal of single-payer healthcare in his state, according to a report from Politico.
Gov. Shumlin had hoped to create the single-payer system in 2017, but said "this is not the right time" because of what it would take to fund, according to the report.
"These are simply not tax rates that I can responsibly support or urge the Legislature to pass," the governor said in the report. "In my judgment, the potential economic disruption and risks would be too great to small businesses, working families and the state’s economy."
Single-payer healthcare is funded through government rather than private insurers. Gov. Shumlin said in the report that available federal funding for the effort is not as much as anticipated.
Gov. Shumlin's proposed plan would have not truly been single payer in that it excluded large companies with ERISA[AC1] regulated self-insured plans, and, unless Vermont received a waiver, Medicare would have been a separate operation, according to the report.