On February 8, newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled his plan for a publicly funded single-payer healthcare system, which was introduced into the state’s legislature. If enacted, which appears likely, it will be the first system of its kind in the United States and Vermont would become the first state to abolish most forms of private health insurance.

via Vermont’s Single-Payer Salvation — In These Times.

I love this. The first state in the union to implement single-payer healthcare.

Even the Republican Mayor in Vermont is behind single-payer.

On February 24, the Republican Mayor Christopher Louras, of Rutland, urged the state to adopt the single-payer legislation, noting that more than a third of the city’s $7 million annual payroll is consumed by healthcare costs. “The only way to fix the problem is to blow it up and start over,” Louras said.

Wendell Potter whose book Deadly Spin i’m actually finishing up had a good piece recently that deserves highlighting. He talks about how the health insurance regime really doesn’t want judicial activist judges trying to overturn the healthcare legislation passed last year.

Officially, the insurers are maintaining neutrality on the court challenges to the law and the repeal efforts. They understand that Republican attorneys general who filed the lawsuits and the Congressional Republicans who voted to repeal the law – most of whom received campaign contributions from the insurers’ political action committees – must go through the motions to satisfy “the base.”

Where has this been heard before? Once again tea baggers and conservatives are being used by corporations.

The court challenges and repeal efforts are, in reality, a useful smokescreen for the big insurers, whose real agenda is to gut the law while preserving the mandate. Expect a big lobbying and PR campaign – financed by our insurance premiums – to persuade us that the new regulations and consumer protections will make those premiums skyrocket.

Gut the law and preserve the mandate. That’s what AHIP wants!

I have to commend these people.

The police said that 17 people were arrested after refusing to leave the lobby of an office building on Park Avenue where the insurance company Aetna has offices. They were charged with criminal trespass. In addition, the police said, three of those arrested were charged with obstructing governmental administration.

Also notice where Aetna has their offices, they’re on Park Ave! Surely they can’t afford to have such nice offices for their executives by actually paying out healthcare claims all the time!

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) — Aetna Inc. dropped as much as 20 percent in New York trading after the health insurer said quarterly profit fell 44 percent, pulled down by investment losses tied to the global financial crisis. The company, the third-largest U.S. medical benefits provider, reduced its earnings goals for the year because of turmoil in capital markets and warned that the falling value of its stock holdings could curb 2009 earnings. Third-quarter net income declined to $277.3 million, or 58 cents a share, the Hartford, Connecticut-based company said today in a statement.

As one of the health insurance corporations which have been the major obstacle to getting universal healthcare in our country; I’m glad to see them in some fiscal pain right now. Even people who have insurance through these corporations often have their claims denied for treatment or surgery they really need. Truthfully, I don’t think these sort of corporations should even exist. We should have a single-payer plan and cut all of them out. Well, I guess if after single-payer were instituted and there were some people who could afford to have private insurance and wanted to pay for it; then they could remain for that purpose.

Update: I’m also happy to see that Cigna is feeling the pain as well.