VERMONT SMALL BUSINESS HAS BIG WIN OVER SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE

Vermont’s largest small business advocacy group, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) was pleasantly surprised by Governor Shumlin’s admission today that Vermont simply cannot afford a single payer health care system. While Shumlin has spent years hopeful that the over $2.0 billion price tag would miraculously be taken care of, small business stood steady in the storm, insisting it would be impossible to fund a single payer healthcare system. 

Anytime NFIB/VT asked questions regarding coverage or cost, the Shumlin administration avoided a clear answer. When asked at one point if there was a “plan B,” small business was dismissed and told that the Shumlin administration would find a way to make this work. Here we are, years later, having wasted time, effort and money on a plan that just like we said it would, wound up with no funding stream. It’s a shame that it took them this long to figure out that it was impossible, but small business in Vermont is breathing a temporary sigh of relief today.