MONTPELIER, Vermont (Reuters) - Vermont's governor signed a bill on Thursday that would make the state the second in the nation with near-universal health-care insurance by extending coverage to as much as 96 percent of its residents by 2010.
The law comes a month after neighboring Massachusetts passed the nation's first near-universal health-care reform plan, which aims to provide insurance to about 95 percent of the state's half-million uninsured residents by 2009.
Both plans reflect state efforts to tackle growing concerns over health care with 46 million Americans uninsured, traditional employer-based coverage shrinking and the cost of insurance premiums steadily rising.
Vermont's legislation, signed by Gov. James Douglas at a ceremony at the state's second-largest hospital, aims to reduce the ranks of uninsured -- about 10 percent of the state's 620,000 residents -- while also streamlining care given to those with coverage.
A new subsidized health-care plan called Catamount Health will be offered by insurance companies and paid for in part with a hike in the state's cigarette tax and a fee on employers who do not offer health insurance to their workers.
It will provide coverage similar to that offered to state employees, taking nearly 25,000 people off the rolls of the uninsured, backers of the legislation say.
"This is potentially a national model," said Kenneth Thorpe, an Emory University professor and health-care consultant who helped create Vermont's reforms.
Massachusetts' plan has also been touted as a possible national model by requiring all residents to obtain health insurance by July 1, 2007, or face possible tax penalties
The Massachusetts plan will provide insurance to the lowest-earning residents by offering low- or no-cost plans, with premiums and co-payments paid entirely by the state.
In Vermont, insurers can begin offering the new plan from July 1, 2007, but some benefits will be phased-in sooner.
Douglas, a Republican, had up to a month ago threatened the Democrat-controlled Legislature with a veto if they rejected his demand that the plan be run by private insurers.
"This law preserves the private sector role in providing insurance, it preserves economic security of our state and it makes a strong commitment toward wellness and the management of chronic diseases," he said.
The reforms follow a two-year debate in the state Legislature and call for streamlined record keeping, free immunizations, and greater access to preventive care.
