Vermont Governor’s Presidential Campaign Could Put Health on the National Agenda, Mallaby Says

Although Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), who is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2004, has "almost no chance of winning the White House," he "stands a decent chance of getting his issue" -- health care -- "onto the political agenda," Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby writes. Unlike many in Washington, Dean, a physician and "unabashed believer" in universal coverage, can "boast of action" on health care issues, Mallaby writes. His "pride and joy" is the state's Dr. Dynasaur program, which insures almost every Vermont child up to age 18 "while managing simultaneously to be fiscally responsible." Last week, he signed a law that requires pharmaceutical company representatives to publicly disclose all gifts valued at $25 or above. And in a recent speech, Dean said that there is a need "to reconnect patients with the cost of their care" through higher copayments and deductibles, noting that all Americans are "in this together and we have to come up with solutions." Mallaby concludes, "[W]e should all wish [Dean's] campaign good luck ... [because] health care deserves a larger slice of the nation's political attention" (Mallaby, Washington Post, 6/17).