These are the first lines of an editorial that appeared in The Times Argus today:

Passage of historic health care legislation by the Vermont Legislature puts Vermont on the road to reform that could chart a new path for the nation.

Fundamental to the new plan is a concept effectively promoted by a grass-roots campaign that persistently drummed home its message: Health care is a human right.

To embrace that idea is to set in motion changes that alter profoundly the way that people receive health care. Health care becomes something to expect as a citizen — like public education or police protection — rather than something one might or might not be able to afford, like a new car or washing machine.

When one accepts the notion that health care is a human right, one’s view of the health care system as it exists today changes. It is no longer acceptable that a capricious system denies care to people because of arcane provisions in their insurance policies. It is no longer acceptable that people are allowed to go without care because they cannot afford coverage. It is no longer acceptable that health care emergencies bankrupt families whose coverage does not stretch far enough.
 

Download the complete editorial below (note that The Times Argus has a subscription-only website, hence no weblinks).