Last week, some business leaders called for a one year delay in implementing Vermont Health Connect, the state health care exchange. State officials were hoping that the exchange would be fully operational at the beginning of December but the online payment program still hasn’t been put into place. Some individuals and small businesses are concerned that time is running out for them to purchase policies through the exchange in order to have coverage beginning in January.
The two officials in charge of the exchange are Bob Kinzel’s guests: Commissioner Mark Larson of the Dept. of Vermont Health Access, and State Health Care Reform Director Robin Lunge.
Also in the program, reporter Pete Hirschfeld joins us to analyze the political fallout of the health care exchange's launch. Lt. Gov. Phil Scoot, the only Republican in statewide office, this week also called for a delay in fully implementing the exchange. Hirschfeld is chief of the Vermont Press Bureau, and will join VPR's Capital Bureau in January.
