Community | September 29, 2011 | 56 comments

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State

source: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/09/29/332031/montana-governor-waiver-for-single-payer/

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As ThinkProgress previously reported, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) made history earlier this year when he signed into law legislation that would make his state the first state to lay the groundwork for a single payer health care system. In order to enact this system, the state needs a waiver from the federal health care law, which it will be able to obtain in 2017. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) has introduced legislation to move the waiver date up to 2014, an idea President Obama has endorsed.

Now, another governor is looking to take advantage of flexibility in Obama’s health care law in order to establish a single payer system. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) announced yesterday that he will be seeking a waiver to set up his own universal health care system in his state modeled after the single payer Canadian health care system that began in the province of Saskatchewan:

Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Wednesday he will ask the U.S. government to let Montana set up its own universal health care program, taking his rhetorical fight over health care to another level. [...] The popular second-term Democrat would like to create a state-run system that borrows from the program used in Saskatchewan. He said the Canadian province controls cost by negotiating drug prices and limiting non-emergency procedures such as MRIs.

Local news station KRTV covered Schweitzer’s bid for a new universal health care system for his state. Schweitzer said that under his ideal system patients can still buy private insurance if they want to, but that it’ll be a “lonely place over there at Blue Cross Blue Shield” due to the superior public health insurance he plans to provide. Watch it:

(VIDEO at link)

Schweitzer’s announcement to seek a waiver and design his own system was met with curiosity by GOP state Sen. Jason Priest, who responded, “I don’t want to reject it before I see the details. I am just glad he is thinking about it.”
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56 comments // Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Will Seek Health Care Law Waiver To Establish Single Payer In His State

  • PIANORAMA
  • attilatheblond
  • OlBlue
    • 0
      OlBlue  

    • I had some land in Montana that I sold a few years ago. It is a great state but I must admit I've managed to avoid being there in the winter.
      Heard the other day that they passed a law that if you have a medical marijuana card you can't buy a gun there. Actually it may be a federal thing. That upset everyone: gun rights people and pot people alike. Getting shitfaced drunk and shooting the hell out of things is still allowed, if not encouraged.

    • 8 months ago
  • attilatheblond
  • OlBlue
  • percipi224
    • +1
      percipi224  

    • All I heard in my head was Frank Zappa's moving to montana!!! Good for Gov. Schweitzer. Does he know he just killed any chance of future higher political office?

    • 8 months ago
  • HarukoHaruhara
    • +1
      HarukoHaruhara  
    • percipi224:

      Rumour is he's going to run for U.S. Senate. And his name keeps coming up as a potential VP candidate. Brian is nowhere near done with politics. He can even run for governor again four years after his next term ends if he wants.

    • 8 months ago
  • WagonMaster
    • +2
      WagonMaster  

    • Hurray for Montana !! This is what "ObamaCare" was supposed to look like before the crooks in Congress got hold of it. This is a worldwide success in every country but ours because we're too damn greedy and uncaring to actually take care of our citizens, which is the Governments responsibility. One that it's shirking very well under the guise of the " Creeping Socialism " gambit.

    • 8 months ago
  • lazloman
  • JanforGore
  • JustZ
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • David_H
  • wally60
    • +2
      wally60  
    • David_H:

      david

      what you have described is already in place its the current health care system the only difference is its not just montana going broke its the whole country while the health care industry is making millions.i agree with the idea montana is trying it wont work without the whole country doing it.many people that provide health care in montana will bail out finding better money elseware

    • 8 months ago
  • letsliveinpeace
  • kennymotown
  • trut
    • +2
      trut  

    • It`s a great idea but unless the whole nation goes to single payer, how are you going to keep the ill from just going to Montana to receive treatments bankrupting to system thereÉ

    • 8 months ago
  • attilatheblond
  • artemis6
  • lazloman
  • Leen61
    • +7
      Leen61  

    • Excellent! Gov. Brian Schweitzer is taking his cue from Vermont. This is how single-payer will spread. One state does it and it catches on to the rest.

    • 8 months ago
  • Schnookums
    • +9
      Schnookums  

    • Single-payer insurance models are a long, long time coming in this country.

      Why some people are so deathly afraid of having one entity pay their health-care bills during their working lives, but conversely look forward to it in retirement.....I'll never figure out.

    • 8 months ago
  • WakeUpPeople
  • David_H
  • WakeUpPeople
    • +1
      WakeUpPeople  
    • David_H:

      No, it isn't socialism or communism. Unless you think that the US military is also socialistic, communistic, and "un-American".

      Think about it. We all pay into the system that funds the institution because it protects us in our time of need. How is that unlike a single-payer healthcare system? Just because it is a social program doesn't mean that it is evidence of socialism/communism/Marxism/whatever-ism. We are a society. We have collective needs, and it is not an un-American sin to pool our resources to make our nation better, stronger, and healthier.

      "Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism." ~Hubert H. Humphrey

      “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” ~ Winston S. Churchill

    • 8 months ago
  • David_H
  • WakeUpPeople
  • OlBlue
  • attilatheblond
  • OlBlue
  • dinm76
    • +4
      dinm76  

    • Real estate in Vermont and (now hopefully, Montana) just became a good investment. Instead of retireing in Florida people will flock to these states for the health care.

    • 8 months ago
  • Joeydee44
  • artemis6
  • attilatheblond
    • +2
      attilatheblond  
    • artemis6:

      Actually, a lot of 'trust funders' came up here over the past decade. They are pretty amusing re their expectations. Gallatin County had to publish a booklet to explain the facts of life to newbies. Things like: It snows here. Sometimes a lot. And not all streets get plowed. Your street probably won't get plowed soon, if at all. Oh, and there is wildlife. Deer eat flowers. Deal with it. It is not an emergency the county takes care of when bunnies and deer enjoy the plants you put in your yard. Wildlife has a tendency to disregard land titles and deeds. In spring, there is mud. Oh, and don't leave food out or the bears will post your address on their facebook pages.

      OK, not quite in that language, but pretty close.

    • 8 months ago
  • David_H
  • artemis6
  • artemis6
  • noxidereus
  • attilatheblond
    • +4
      attilatheblond  

    • Years ago, when he ran for senate, he arranged for charter bus trips for Montana senior citizens who were having trouble paying for their meds. Bus trips to Canada to buy medications at more reasonable prices! Oh, the feds made all manner of threats and he had to stop the convoys. But he got some attention to the problem and put it on the topic agendas at many dinner tables across the nation.

      And he went to D.C. to pester buch/cheney when we were having bad fire seasons and all of our National Guard helicopters, essential for fire fighting logistics, were in Iraq. We got our birds back.

    • 8 months ago
  • cherry5000
  • faye59
    • +7
      faye59  

    • Good for him. He's one example of a public servant doing what he needs to do for the people who elected him. Kudos to him.

    • 8 months ago
  • attilatheblond
    • +6
      attilatheblond  
    • faye59:

      He's smart too. Before this past legislative session got started, he called up the figures for liquor sales in Helena. Then he published the numbers of what the sales were when the legislature was not in session and when the legislature was in session. BIG jump when the reps and lobbyists were in town!

      Oh, he knew the GOP pols were gonna be up to all manner of chicanery and he got way out in front of it by pointing out how much booze lobbyists and lawmakers bought. One of the things the GOP wanted to do was completely toss out the voter approved medical marijuana law. It only got some modification and we will work to cut back that damage. The GOP also wanted to turn back a local Missoula ordinance, again voter approved initiative, that made it illegal to discriminate against renters for sexual orientation. That went down in flames.

      GOP here talks a lot about local control, but they sure get testy when voters approve of things the GOP and corporations don't like. By simply putting liquor sales increase facts out there, by planting that seed that the pols needed to be watched, our guv probably helped defeat a lot of crap. People got more involved and paid more attention.

    • 8 months ago
  • faye59
  • attilatheblond
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • ozzone
    • +4
      ozzone  
    • HarukoHaruhara:

      What really? You’re not kidding! That’s pretty cool. So is Gov. Brian Schweitzer. I really like him. He doesn’t seem to take any guff from big business. He comes across as his own man.

    • 8 months ago
  • trut
    • +3
      trut  
    • HarukoHaruhara:

      Yes, Tommy Douglas, Keifer`s grandfather, was voted Canada`s greatest hero in a recent poll of Canadians.
      I wonder who you Americans would vote for for your greatest hero, Elvis or maybe Oprah. You folks have far different values than we do.

    • 8 months ago
  • KB723
  • ClassicalGas
    • +5
      ClassicalGas  

    • Schweitzer’s announcement to seek a waiver and design his own system was met with curiosity by GOP state Sen. Jason Priest, who responded, “I don’t want to reject it before I see the details. I am just glad he is thinking about it.”
      -----------------
      Amazing - and most hopeful. If this passes, I may have to leave my beloved Colorado for Montana. Better yet, I'll go lean on CO's pols to follow suit!

    • 8 months ago
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • ClassicalGas
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • ClassicalGas
  • cherry5000
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • attilatheblond
    • +1
      attilatheblond  
    • HarukoHaruhara:

      Pick up a book called The Red Corner. Interesting little history about the extreme northeast corner of MT, which was actually VERY far out there left at one time. Many know about Butte and the strong unions there. Few know there was a strong socialist party in the eastern part of the state once. You sure wouldn't know it now though.

      I believe MT was the second state to grant women the right to vote in state elections, after Utah.

    • 8 months ago
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