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Now the GOP appears to be harnessing that issue as a major talkingpoint, raising concerns that the Shumlin administration s plancould bankrupt the state. It's a mandate driven government monopoly, the GOPmailing reads. It will impose rationing and limit choice.Inevitably the cost will drown the State of Vermont in a sea of redink, or become a noose around the neck of every taxpayer andproperty owner in Vermont. The highlights of Brock s plan, according to the GOP mailing, are: *Generous health savings accounts and high deductible policies; *Lower premiums and/or premium rebates for healthy lifestyles; *Simpler common administrative procedures; *Tort reform that protects doctors who don't order needlesstests; *Coverage that follows people regardless of where they work. Jack Lindley, chair of the Vermont Republican Party, said healthcare is one of a few major issues for this November s election,although not the only one. In an ad playing off the theme of the 1984 Ronald Reaganpresidential campaign ad starting with the line there is a bearin the woods, the Brock campaign cites a number of issues Shumlinsupports. While Reagan s bear symbolized the Soviet Union, thebear in the Vermont woods symbolizes things like health carechoices and freedom being taken. Along with young people leaving the state, utility issues andtaxes, Lindley said the cost of health care is a major campaignissue. It s huge for small business in Vermont, Lindley said. It sthe difference between hiring or not hiring, expanding orcontracting. Brock s health care plan will focus on taking a more free-marketapproach. The details are still under wraps. The gubernatorial candidate has sought the assistance of TarrenBragdon, former Maine legislator and now CEO of the Foundation forGovernment Accountability, what he calls a free-market thinktank in Florida, where Brock also owns a home. Bragdon, who used to head the Maine Heritage Policy Center, playeda significant role in crafting and garnering support for LD 1333,the controversial Maine law that made sweeping changes to thestate s health insurance laws and allowed out-of-state providersto sell plans there. Bragdon said he could not divulge specifics of what Brock s healthcare proposal would look like, but he said aspects of LD 1333, likereinsurance for very sick people could serve as a model forVermont. That law allows insurance companies to charge higher rates forolder, sicker customers or those who live in rural areas. Supporters of the bill say it makes sense because it incentivizeshealthier lifestyles while prohibiting insurance companies fromdenying coverage to those who use a lot of health care services. Critics say it repeals consumer protections and allows out-of-statecompanies to market plans without an enforcement mechanism toensure they pay claims. Bragdon said the fundamental difference between Shumlin s approachand Brock s is how much control bureaucrats and politicians have. Shumlin s approach is to have politicians play doctor andachieve that goal by controlling people s health care decisions, he said. Randy s approach is look at proven solutions that workfor the patient and work for the taxpayer. Former state senator and Rutland City Treasurer Wendy Wilton, whois running for state treasurer, has also supported Brock. Wilton produced her own projections for the cost of Green MountainCare in the fall, and she said no one in the Shumlin administrationwill debate her in public on her projections, which include adeficit in the billions of dollars. Wilton said that analysis was her greatest contribution. She isrunning for state treasurer; her campaign will not focus on healthcare. Rather, she said, Health care is illustrative of my reason forrunning, which is a problem with transparency and accountability. Republicans have asked persistently for a financing plan before theNovember election with no success. Health care reform advocates say the free-market approach hasalready failed when it comes to health care. Anya Rader Wallack is chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, theboard responsible for creating the structure for the single-payersystem. Wallack said allowing insurance companies to charge sicker peoplemore for their premiums undermines the goal of creating a healthiersociety and the benefits of community rating which requiresinsurance companies to offer insurance to people at the same price,regardless of their health status. Vermont pursued the concept of community rating a long time agoin early '90s, based on the philosophy that insurance is away of spreading the risk amongst as broad a population aspossible, she said. When you start segregating people by riskprofile and charge more to people who are sicker, you are kind ofundermining the whole concept. Wallack said a lot of the traditional economic theories pushed byconservatives do not really apply in the complex world of healthinsurance. There s certainly a lot of market breakdown in health care and alot of the sort of standard economic theories about consumerbehavior, competition, and supply and demand don t really work inhealth care for a bunch of reasons, she said. There is a rolefor government in fixing that situation and creating fairness and astructure in which consumers can make rational choices. In a systemthat s too complicated and convoluted for anyone to understand,it s hard to make rational choices. Speaking at a Vermont Press Association luncheon Thursday, Shumlinaddressed some of the criticism of his health care plan. You re going to hear a lot about, in the coming months, theunknowns, how frightening this is, how scary it is, how we don tknow exactly what the Green Mountain Health Care Board isdesigning, we want the answers now, and if we don t get themthat s not fair and it s scary that we don t know what s goingon and it s scaring businesses and others away, he said. You re going to see a lot of big interests coming, the insurancecompanies and others who want to ensure that we fail, not becausethey really care about the little state of Vermont, but becausethey know that if the pony gets out of the shed in the state ofVermont, the stallion could get out of the shed in California andNew York and other big states where governors say to me Wow! Wewant to know more about what you re doing there, because it looksreally interesting. VTDigger.org was unable to connect with Randy Brock personally onThursday. 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