Update June 2008

In this issue:
-- On Health Care Reform, Don't Study. Act
-- The 2009 Budget: Priorities and Problems
-- No New Taxes, but...
-- What Are We Paying to Create Jobs?

On Health Care Reform, Don't Study. Act
If you're feeling that health care in Vermont — and the U.S. — has been studied to death, you have good reason. For at least 25 years, going back to the Hospital Data Council, Vermont has been creating authorities, establishing commissions, and sponsoring studies to get a handle on rising medical costs and diminishing insurance coverage.

In 2006, Vermont did take major action. It created Catamount Health, a state-run health insurance program designed to make affordable health care coverage available to all Vermonters. Now the program appears not to be as affordable as hoped. Since enrollments began last fall, only about 3,851 of Vermont's 65,000 uninsured have signed up.

With progress stalled, the Legislature responded in part by authorizing seven new studies. The studies may uncover new information. But the obstacle to health care reform may not be a lack of information, but rather a fundamental conflict over goals and a paralysis of will.

That's the situation nationally, Drew Altman, President of the Kaiser Family Foundation, concludes in a recent commentary: "Democrats favor comprehensive insurance [that] protects people better from the financial costs of an illness. Republicans generally promote plans [that] encourage people to become more prudent consumers of health care and use less health care overall."

Having broken the impasse once by creating Catamount Health, Vermont again seems to be stuck between competing visions of a Republican administration and a Democratic Legislature. Rather than launch new studies, Vermont should follow through on the choice it's made and make Catamount work.

Read Drew Altman's piece

Read more about the new studies in H.887

The 2009 Budget: Priorities and Problems
The Legislature passed an almost balanced budget before wrapping up the 2008 session in May. But it left some serious problems for November's crop of lawmakers to confront.

The budget approved by the Legislature has a small operating deficit — that is, for the fiscal year starting July 1, General Fund revenues the state expects to collect will be slightly less than the amount budgeted for expenditures. The difference is small — about 1 percent of the General Fund — and this year's surplus will fill the gap.

But if Vermont continues on its current track, the budget gap will widen. The Joint Fiscal Office projects an even bigger operating deficit in fiscal 2010 — and no surplus to cushion it. To find out how the current budget forecast and the Legislature's spending priorities differed from the governor's — or not— read our issue brief: "2009 Budget: Election-Year Caution Postpones Facing Trouble Ahead"

No New Taxes, but...
Taxes and election years just don't seem to go together. Even though General Fund revenues are projected to drop in the coming year as a result of the recession, the administration and the Legislature managed to craft a budget for fiscal 2009 containing almost no new taxes.

That's not to say that Vermonters won't be paying more for certain government services, however. Fees are going up, and so are taxes for some taxpayers.

While legislators and the governor will be able to wave no-new-taxes banners as they run for re-election, there may be better or fairer ways to raise revenue.

For a recap of some of the fee and tax changes taking effect this year, read our issue brief: "No New Taxes, but..."

What Are We Paying to Create Jobs?
It's been a long struggle for the Legislature to find out how effective the state's job creation programs are. A law requiring comprehensive reports on all economic development assistance has been ignored since it was passed, in 1995.

Now Vermont lawmakers are trying again to join a growing group of states that are taking a hard look at what they are getting for their economic development dollars.

Read our issue brief: "Measuring Economic Development: What Do Subsidies Buy?"

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