Universal health care gets nod from voters
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Associated Press - Published: March 3, 2005
RUTLAND — From the remote Northeast Kingdom town of Glover to the city of Burlington, residents overwhelmingly said they wanted legislative leaders to pursue universal health care for the state.
Of the 23 towns that took up the issue at town meeting, only two defeated it: Stockbridge and Bennington.
In Springfield, the tally was 1,318 to 395. In Burlington, 70 percent of the voters said they wanted universal health care. Montpelier said yes by nearly a 2-1 margin, 1,433 to 792.
Former state Sen. Cheryl Rivers, D-Windsor, one of the organizers of the petition drive on behalf of the Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health, said she was thrilled with the support Vermonters threw behind the push for a single-payer health care system.
"I'm euphoric," said Rivers, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor last fall with health care reform as her main campaign theme. "It's a smashing success. Vermonters are quite ready for a change."
The resolution asks selectboards, the governor and the Legislature to actively work for the creation of a universal and comprehensive health insurance system.
The resolution claimed that such a system, which would drastically reduce administrative costs, would reduce health care costs. The Brattleboro-based group had successfully gained support in most Windham County towns in 2004 during town meeting. In 2005, it went statewide to try and drum up support for a new way of funding health care.
Supporting universal health care were Rochester, Hartland, Glover, Weathersfield, Shrewsbury, Randolph, Middletown Springs, Woodbury, Newark, Norwich, Waitsfield, Marshfield, East Montpelier, Middlebury, Springfield, Montpelier, Burlington, Underhill and Strafford.
In Weathersfield, Town Clerk Flo Ann Dango said residents approved the nonbinding resolution on a voice vote during Monday evening's town meeting.
In West Windsor, residents appeared evenly divided on the issue but the moderator did not call a vote, according to Town Clerk Cathy Archibald.
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