by Mike Smith Recently, Governor Peter Shumlin appointed his director of health care reform, Robin Lunge, to serve on the Green Mountain Care Board for the next six years. She will be one of five board members and will be paid an annual salary of $96,678 for 32 hours of work each week. Normally, gubernatorial appointments generate little controversy, but this appointment is different.
The Green Mountain Care Board is the omnipotent overseer of health care in this state, and through its regulatory powers controls a large portion of an industry that represents 20 percent of Vermont’s economy. Lunge’s appointment to the board is controversial because she led the failed single-payer effort; was involved in the trouble-plagued implementation of Vermont Health Connect; and was lax in the oversight of the work and associated invoices of health care consultant Jonathan Gruber. You may remember Gruber — he is the MIT professor who bragged he bamboozled Americans about the benefits of health care reform.
From outward appearances, Shumlin selected Lunge not because of her past successes in health care reform, which are few, but because of her loyalty to him. It’s a political appointment that undermines the credibility of the board. Lunge’s appointment sends a signal to Vermonters that politics and ideology supersede independent thinking and results. And while there are those in the health care community that are upset with this selection, few are willing to publically speak out, perhaps frightened by the power a single board member can wield over their industry.
When the Legislature established the Green Mountain Care Board, its main responsibility was to oversee and regulate the state’s single-payer health care system. It was given extraordinary powers and independence. The thought was to keep it as apolitical as possible and not to be subject to any changing political winds. And yet, when single-payer failed, these extraordinary powers as well as the board’s independence were never sufficiently reviewed or substantially revised by the Legislature.
I am certain that Robin Lunge is a fine person who works hard for the people of Vermont. Her personal attributes should be applauded. However, there are many good people who work hard. Sports coaches, for example, can be fine people, work hard and have incredible skills, but if they consistently fail in their sport they will be replaced. The same holds true in most professions.
So, what future results can Vermonters expect if the person that has been at the center of our major health care reform failures is now appointed to a position that controls vast portions of this state’s health care economy? It stands to reason there will be more disappointment and chaos. Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying, “the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Instead of accepting the politicization of the board, this political appointment can be the impetus for the new governor and Legislature to re-examine the board’s role and responsibilities and make changes where appropriate. The board has over 20 employees and a multimillion dollar budget. Current board members, and the state employees who work for the board, have solid reputations — hard working, deliberative and fair. However, the purpose of the board’s existence has changed over the last few years. Given likely changes forthcoming in health care, especially at the federal level, this is an opportune time to review and possibly revise not only the role of the Green Mountain Care Board, but the entire state health care bureaucracy. In January, we’ll see if the new governor and Legislature want to give it a try.
Mike Smith is the host of the radio program, “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5, 98.3 and 101.9 FM. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to Vermont Business Magazine, The Times Argus and Rutland Herald. He was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Governor Jim Douglas.