Governor Peter Shumlin has signed the 2012 health care bill into law.  He says the bill puts the state on the road to implementing a single payer system. But an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision could have a big impact on the Governor's plan.

With little fanfare, the Green Mountain Care Board announced this week that hospital budgets will be capped at 3.75 percent. Analyst Hamilton Davis says it's the Board's first significant step in controlling health care costs.

The Vermont Senate has passed stage two of Vermont's push to get as close as it can to a universal, single-payer health care system by late in this decade.

The heart of the health care bill is the creation of a consumer marketplace Exchange where individuals and businesses with fewer than 50 employees would be required to purchase their policies beginning in 2014.

Governor Peter Shumlin is confident that his health care reform initiatives will still be viable if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal Affordable Care Act. But the state's top health care official isn't so sure.

The House is set to begin its debate this morning on the major health care initiative of the session. Governor Peter Shumlin says he hopes passage of the legislation will encourage small businesses to drop coverage for their employees, because those employees will be eligible for several hundred million dollars in new federal subsidies.

The health care debate at the Statehouse is taking a partisan turn as the House gets ready to consider the Governor's plan. Republican leaders say the bill is being rushed through the Legislature.  But the Democrats argue the Republicans are trying to "sabotage" health care reform in Vermont.

The Shumlin Administration has revealed a strategy that, at first glance, appears to undermine its own health care plan for small businesses. But the Administration's actions are actually geared to make it easier to implement a single-payer system.

The role of the federally mandated consumer exchange is emerging as one of the most controversial issues in this year's health care debate.

The debate over health care this session at the Statehouse became less contentious on Monday when Governor Peter Shumlin adopted several key provisions backed by the state's business community.

Lawmakers spent a lot of time last year crafting a new outline for the state's health care system. This year they have to begin to implement the law. And that's already generating plenty of debate.

A law that was passed last year set the course for major changes in Vermont's health care system, but the details are being worked out this year in the Legislature.

Legislation that implements the key provisions of Governor Peter Shumlin's health care plan has been introduced at the Statehouse. And several parts of the bill are generating a lot of debate.

Governor Peter Shumlin looks at how well he did in meeting his goals for 2011 and outlines his priorities for 2012.

This winter, the U.S. Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of President Obama's health care plan. Vermont officials say Governor Peter Shumlin's efforts to implement a single payer system in the state could hinge on how the Court rules.

Vermont's doctors have formed a new organization to allow them to take an active role in forming a new state health care system in the coming years. The new organization is needed to comply with federal anti-trust laws.

The health care overhaul bill that was the centerpiece of Governor Peter Shumlin's legislative agenda last winter left many critical decisions to a five-member board that would determine the nuts and bolts of transforming Vermont's health care delivery and payment system.

Anya Rader Wallack was just named head of the Green Mountain Care board. Rader Wallack served as the governor's special assistant for health reform in the most recent legislative session which she will need to draw on to meet immediate and long-term challenges.

Governor Peter Shumlin has taken a major step towards his goal of having Vermont become the first state in the country to adopt a single payer health care system. He has appointed the five members of a newly created state board that will oversee virtually every aspect of health care in Vermont.

Governor Peter Shumlin has appointed his top health policy aide as head of the new Green Mountain Health Care board.