A group of people who oppose a health care bill making its way through the state Legislature took their cause to the capital Thursday, denouncing the measure as ill-conceived and rushed.
About 20 people representing a coalition of groups – including Green Mountain Patriots and other tea party organizations – gathered at the Statehouse to lobby lawmakers and show "Sick and Sicker," a film that makes a case against health care administered by the government.
The current proposed bill, supported by Gov. Peter Shumlin and already passed by the House, would have the state create a health insurance marketplace called an exchange that would let people shop for health insurance. The measure is now before the state Senate, and would set up a five-member board to design a benefit package and set the parameters for the system.
It’s the first step of Shumlin’s push to have Vermont establish a single-payer health care system that would phase out most private insurance.