Founder/NESRI
Hi: On 2/27/15, Cathy Albisa of NESRI has just sent me an update on the Public Option for Affordable Healthcare as presented to the Vermont Legislature. If you’re interested, please read her Post .
We support the Middle Class and options to reduce income inequality. More work, vision, activism and less talk.
Thanks for reading and following dear reader. Cathy’s update to me is enclosed for your review and comments. All the best. Joyce
Dear Joyce,
NESRI and the Vermont Workers’ Center released a human rights-based public financing plan for Vermont’s health care system. Yesterday at the Vermont Statehouse, members of the Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign presented the results of detailed data analysis and modeling, making the case for financing universal health care equitably through progressive taxes.
The Campaign received support from over 100 economists, including Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Gerald Friedman of the University of Massachusetts, and Richard Wolff of The New School, in the form of an open letter describing universal, publicly financed health care “not only economically feasible but highly preferable to a fragmented market-based insurance system,” and calling on politicians to “move forward with implementing a public financing plan for the universal health care system envisioned by state law.”
The Campaign presented an equitable plan for financing universal health care that would flip the way we pay for care, ensuring that low- and middle-income people pay proportionally less than the wealthy – the opposite of the current system. Families with an income of $50,000, for example, would see their health care costs go down 40% on average. Businesses would contribute based on their size and wage discrepancy: those with lower wage gaps between the top 1% and the bottom half of wages would pay less. This would prevent wage depression and result in all businesses with fewer than 50 workers paying lower tax rates than in Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin’s proposal. Back in December, the Governor’s flat payroll tax model projected high costs to small businesses, which became a key reason for stalling the transition to universal health care.
The Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign’s financing plan shows that an equitable taxation model can shift existing health care payments from the private to the public realm and ensure that people and businesses pay according to their ability.
Please take a moment to check out the plan and watch the short video on how equitable health care financing can become a reality!
In solidarity,
The NESRI Team
Our Mission
In partnership with communities, NESRI works to build a broad movement for economic & social rights, including health, housing, education and work with dignity. Based on the principle that fundamental human needs create human rights obligations on the part of government and the private sector, NESRI advocates for public policies that guarantee the universal and equitable fulfillment of these rights in the United States.
NESRI is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We rely on the support of foundations & individuals like you! Your tax-deductible donation helps us promote human rights in the United States.
