Advocates say health care bill must be expanded

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(Host) Advocates say the state needs to do more to expand health care.

They’re asking the Senate to revise a health care reform bill that’s already passed the House.

Erica Rogers, a nurse from Bennington, says she’s being treated for breast cancer. But she says her treatments aren’t covered by Catamount Health because it excludes "pre-existing conditions.”

(Rogers) "I think that in the long run it will impact the quality of care that people have with Catamount Blue. I think that once the little problems are taken care of, Catamount Blue may become an excellent insurance policy for a lot of Vermonters.”

(Host) The Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security wants the Senate to require that Catamount Health cover pre-existing conditions.

And they also want to make the coverage available to people who now have to pay deductibles of three-thousand dollars or more.

The campaign says it would cost $7 million to make those changes. Organizers suggest a one percent income tax surcharge on people who earn more than $1 million dollars a year.

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