4421.0 An Evening With US Senator Bernie Sanders & Dr. Deb Richter & Presentation of Viseltear Award

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 6:30 PM
Social
The state of Vermont passed legislation which was signed by Governor Peter Shumlin on May 26, 2011 that set the state on a pathway to state single-payer health system reform. This legislation was the consequence of legislators like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and grassroots organizations like Vermont Health Care for All, led by Dr. Deb Richter, former president of Physicians for a National Health Program. This session will focus on the struggles that led up to the passage of the legislation and the plans to confront the obstacles remaining, including the 2017 ban on state experimentation in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Vermont may become the first state to guarantee truely universal, affordable access to health care in the United States.
Session Objectives: Senator Bernie Sanders Describe the complexities of the legislative process involved with creating a state-based single-payer program and the federal waivers necessary, such as Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. Identify the political lessons to be learned from the Vermont experience: what are the particularities of the Vermont situation that make it unique and what are the general aspects that can be applied in other states. Discuss how to lobby legislators in both the state and federal governments. Dr. Deb Richter Describe how to build coalitions between professional groups and grassroots groups around the issue of single-payer legislation in states. Explore the variety of roles that professionals such as doctors, nurses, and public health workers can adopt in implementing state single-payer legislation, e.g., serving on advisory boards, providing vision for health care reform, and organizing other professionals for health system change. Identify the obstacles to implementing state single-payer and strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
Organizer:
Oliver Fein, MD
Moderator:
Oliver Fein, MD

See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.

Organized by: Medical Care
Endorsed by: Socialist Caucus

See more of: Medical Care
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