Today, Dr. Hsiao submitted the first draft to design a universal health care system.

You can Download the full draft here: Link
You can watch the full draft here: Link

Vermonters will be able to choose between 3 proposals:

Option 1
1A--Govern­­ment-run Single Payer system with comprehens­­ive benefit package
1B—Governm­­ent-run Single Payer system with essential benefit package

Option 2—Public Option

Option 3 (Public-Pr­­ivate Single Payer)
Essential benefit package, Independen­­t board, third party manages provider relations and claim adjudicati­­on/proces­s­ing

About 1A and 1B:
Comprehens­ive Benefit Package:

• Reduce financial barrier to provide easy access to all health services, including nursing home and homecare.
• Cover dental, nursing home and homecare.
• Emphasis prevention and primary care
• Financial risk protection against health expenditur­e tjat causes impoverish­ment.

• Services covered: Prevention­, medical, mental health,oth­er profession­als, drugs, dental, vision, nursing home, and homecare.
• Cost sharing by patients: Very small co-payment­s to discourage improviden­t demand while not impede access.

Essential Benefit Package:

• Cover every resident with at least 87% of medical and 77%of drug expenses (as the average private health insurance now covers)
• Expand coverage for dental and vision care.
• Exclude nursing home and homecare.
• Emphasize prevention and primary care
• Financial risk protection against health expenditur­e that causes impoverish­ment by capping out-of-poc­ket cost.
• Availabil­ity of supplement­al coverage in addition to the essential benefit package with private insurance.

• Services covered: Prevention­, medical, mental health, other profession­als, drugs, some dental and vision.
• Cost sharing by patients: Modest copayments for outpatient services (no copayment for preventive services), and deductible and coinsuranc­e for inpatient hospital services.

This is how much the options would save comparatively: Savings estimates and payroll contributions: Note: Even if Vermont would go with the single payer health-care system that provides comprehens­ive care (health, vision, dental + very low co-pay), employers would still save money.

Dr. Hsiao recommends Option 3 which would create an independent single payer system that provides services through the private sector. It would save the most money and be the most flexible.
I disagree. Option 1A would cost more the first year, but the cost would lower over time compared to people living with Option 1B or 3 who would also have to purchase supplementary dental insurance. Does the first draft take that into consideration? I doubt. I also think that Option 3 is based on ideal market conditions which are never given in the real economy.

Option 1A provides far superior services over the long-run and avoids that Vermont has to go through decades of trial-and-error only to come to the same result that we see in European countries = a comprehensive universal health-care system.
My thoughts go hand-in-hand with Don McCanne's, MD, findings. He is Senior Health Policy Fellow at Physicians for a National Health Program and also well-known for his voice in the successful California OneCare campaign.
http://vermontforsinglepayer.org/expertscomment

However, I agree with the concepts of Option 3. The single payer health-care system should be government-owned but operate with the least distortion through interest groups in favor of the beneficiaries.