The Vermont Workers’ Center launched its Healthcare Is a Human Right campaign in 2008. Thousands of people came together from across the state and developed the HCHR campaign model to change what was considered politically possible in healthcare reform. In 2011, the campaign won passage of Act 48, the first law of its kind in the country, which committed the state to moving toward a universal, publicly financed healthcare system.
Act 48 was a huge step forward, yet federal regulations required Vermont to delay the transition to universal healthcare until 2017, and politicians have not yet agreed a public financing plan for the new system. The HCHR campaign is continuing to organize for the full implementation of the law, specifically by calling for equitable public financing.
