Dunne Proposes Healthcare Plan - Rutland Herald 6/20/04

Dunne proposes one big, self-insured pool

By Susan Smallheer, Herald Staff

HARTLAND THREE CORNERS- Sen. Matthew Dunne, D-Windsor, wants Vermont to have the same style of health care system as corporate giant General Electric.
Health care is the biggest crisis facing Vermonters, and in particular his constituents in Windsor County, Dunne said in launching his re-election bid Tuesday.

And he said the way to get health insurance to all Vermonters is to create a giant self-insurance pool of all Vermonters.

Dunne said that by pooling all Vermonters together, Vermont can afford universal coverage. He said the plan would be paid for through payroll deductions, much like most Vermont employees pay for their health insurance now.

“My goal is universal coverage.” Dunne said he supports putting the plan out to bid to be administered, and not creating a new state bureaucracy. And he said he wants an emphasis on preventative care, and rewards for people who “take care of themselves.”
Republican initiatives like medical savings plans are “great for high incomes and people who don't get sick,” Dunne said.

He said the administration of Gov. James Douglas is actually going backward in its efforts to solve the health care crisis. He said it's short-sighted and poor policy to require people with low incomes, such as $9,000 a year, to pay a $38 monthly premium.
“The goal is coverage. We actually lost dollars,” Dunne said, noting that the working poor face so many demands for their dollars that they will chose to buy something other than health insurance, particularly if they are healthy.

Dunne, who recently started a job as associate director of Dartmouth College's Rockefeller Center for Social Sciences and Public Policy, works to establish programs that support students seeking careers in the public service sector. Prior to that position, Dunne worked as a consultant to the Rockefeller Center.

At 34, Dunne is the youngest member of the Vermont Senate. The one-term Democrat from Hartland, kicked off his re-election bid late Tuesday afternoon on the steps of Damon Hall, his hometown's town hall.

He surrounded himself with friends and supporters, who were served juice and cookies Tuesday.

During his first term, Dunne championed legislation that provided incentives for redevelopment of old industrial sites that may be polluted. He also worked to establish a renewable technology business incubator in Springfield.

Dunne was a former state representative who left the Vermont House to become director of AmeriCorps in the Clinton administration, and stayed on for a year with the Bush administration.

On his return to Vermont in 2002, he ran for the Senate, capturing the seat left open by the retirement of longtime Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Windsor.

The freshman senator said he plans to raise and spend close to the same amount he spent in 2002- about $35,000- to win his Senate seat.

That amount set a record in Windsor County politics, but despite that Dunne said his campaign will be based on retail politics. He said his Republican challengers have received big contributions at the last minute from the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party- something the Democrats are not planning on.
Dunne defended the high spending and the first use of full-time staffers in a state Senate run, saying that putting his money towards support staff allows him to get out and meet Windsor County residents, and let others do the organizational work.

He said that he knocked on more than 3,000 doors in 2002, and said that was the key to getting elected.

“It allows people to voice their concerns,” Dunne said.

Windsor County is represented by three Democrats- Dunne and two state leaders: Sen. Peter F. Welch, D-Windsor, president pro tem of the Senate, and Se. John Campbell, D-Windsor, Senate majority leader.

Windsor County Republicans have fielded three candidates this year for the Senate seats- Fred Baldwin of Chester, Charles Kimbell of Pomfret and John MacGovern of Windsor.