Vermont moving toward single-payer system

While Congress and the courts struggle over the future of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Vermont is moving toward a single-payer healthcare system.

Vermont’s plan, which has been passed by its House of Representatives, would have the state provide insurance coverage for all residents, regardless of employment or income. The plan, which would not go into effect until at least 2014, is designed by Harvard economist William Hsiao, who helped design Taiwan’s single-payer system.

How to pay for the plan has not been determined. One poll showed the state’s physicians divided nearly equally on the idea. Read more here.