Sanders bill pushes for health care innovation

September 11, 2007

MONTPELIER - U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., has introduced a bill that would give five states money to try out programs providing for universal health care coverage - an experiment he hopes will show that so-called single-payer government insurance is "the cost-effective and moral thing to do." If his bill wins passage and becomes law - a feat Sanders acknowledges will be an uphill fight - he hopes Vermont will be one of the five states to apply for money and flexibility from the federal government to enact a pilot program, the senator said by telephone.

The Vermont Public Interest Research Group, which has lobbied for health care reform in the state, praised Sanders' proposal.

"This bill could pave the way for states like Vermont to fundamentally change the way we think about health care," said Stefanie Sidortsova, health care advocate for the organization, said in a statement.

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