By Rachel Zimmerman
Commonhealth blog, WBUR.org, March 24, 2011
Medical students from Vermont and neighboring states are heading to Montpelier this weekend to rally in support of a publicly-funded, single payer health system for the Green Mountain state.
A press release from the group, Physicians for a National Health Program, quotes Harvard Medical student Jonathan Takahashi on why he supports the plan:
āThrough my training in medicine and public health thus far, I have seen firsthand how much the current lack of a unified and equitable health care system is a stumbling block in doing the work I care about. This is why action to improve health care, through measures such as implementing a single-payer financing system, is important to me.ā
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., both of whom have been outspoken advocates of single-payer reform, are scheduled to speak at the 1 pm rally Saturday at the Vermont Statehouse, the physicians group says.
Earlier this week over 200 physicians from around the country, including 13 from Massachusetts, said they would seriously consider relocating to Vermont if it were to implement a single-payer system.
Read our interview here with one of the students planning to attend the rally.
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2011/03/med-students-vermont-single-payer-system/