Cape Care Moves Forward

Cape Care is a non-profit, single-payer plan that would be funded by a tax to residents of Cape Cod, Mass., municipalities that have voted it in. It was supported by town meetings in 11 towns and voted down in three others.

The Harwich Oracle reports that it “would eliminate the role of insurance companies and take a form much like schools and public safety...

"Based on the population Cape Care would work with and the potential savings of buying medicine in bulk and eliminating insurance company profits, the coalition said it’s feasible that health care could be provided for everyone. The state estimates there are 14,000 uninsured Barnstable County residents.

Cape Care member Doug Marshall of Sandwich says that Sandwich is now spending 16 percent of the town budget, and that in five or six years they'll spend 20 to 22 percent of their entire budget on health care.

This is an exciting plan. Can the insurance industry stop reform even at the town hall level? There’s more information at the Cape Care website.