By Mike Faher
The 2018 legislative session was a roller-coaster ride for advocates of universal primary care in Vermont.
Supporters celebrated when the primary care bill, S.53, advanced with public financing mechanisms built in. And they rallied behind the bill when state legislators questioned the feasibility of taxpayer-funded health care.
But the campaign ended on May 12, with S.53 stalled in the House Appropriations Committee as the Legislature adjourned. Rep. Kitty Toll, D-Danville and House Appropriations chair, said the legislative schedule was the biggest factor in the bill’s demise.
“We did receive the bill quite late in the session,” Toll said. “And being such a complex bill, to get the amount of work done that Appropriations felt it needed, we simply ran out of time.” continue story at VTDigger website