Health Care Reform Goals and Initiatives
Making quality and affordable health care available for all Vermonters
Vermont’s health care reform was created from a realization by many policy makers that the fundamental goals of health care reform are inter-related:
- Covering the uninsured will help to lower uncompensated care costs, which affect premiums paid by the insured;
- Unless health care costs can be brought to within a more manageable rate of growth, Vermont will not be able to afford to cover the uninsured; and
- Public health initiatives and appropriate attention to healthy lifestyles and disease prevention are essential elements of an effective health care reform strategy.
More than thirty-five separate initiatives contained in the legislation provide the framework for Vermont’s Health Care Reform of 2006. The Secretary of Administration is responsible for overall coordination of health care reform. Each initiative is assigned to lead entity/entities within state government with the expertise and ability to work collaboratively with the stakeholders to ensure its success.
The 2006 Health Care Reform Five-Year Implementation Plan presents a description of the individual health care reform initiatives; the 2011 strategic goal for that initiative; the known milestones associated with achieving the 2011 goal: the lead entity/entities within state government responsible for the milestone, and any statutory changes that the administration believes are needed to assist in achieving the initiative’s 2011 goal.
