All those single people who voted for the president again might want to reconsider. They also might want to stay the hell away from Vermont.
Politicians in the Green Mountain State haven't been shy in their affection for Obamacare, and they proved it this week, becoming the first state in the union to release their proposed health insurance rates.
To quote straight from the Associated Press story that ran right here on BenefitsPro, "The state released proposed rates Monday. Examples show that a family of four with an annual income of $32,000 would pay $45 a month out of pocket. A single person making $40,000 would pay $317 a month."
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Now, we already knew Vermont's already on the road to our first single-payer health care system in the country, making the politicians in Massachusetts look like Ayn Rand groupies. They started down that path back in 2011 with the creation of Green Mountain Care, a state-run insurance pool aimed at providing universal coverage for residents that also allowed the state to earn an exemption waver from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
So while this isn't necessarily the best early indicator for what to expect next year, it does offer a glimpse of what we might run into a few years from now.
I mean, let's be honest. The Republicans want Obamacare to fail to prove their point—to win the national argument against this unwieldy legislation.
On the flip side, I'd argue the Democrats want this to fail just as badly so we can get past this awkward dance and jump right into bed with a single-payer system. Because, make no mistake, that's what's coming next. And when it does, Vermont's the canary in the coal mine choking on the fumes (and, yeah, I know it's a syrup state, but just humor me).
Either way, if nothing else, the future of health insurance is gonna do more for marriage than God Himself.
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