The laboratory of democracy is about to run a test on single-payer health care, as the state of Vermont has passed a bill to implement a Canadian-like system on our side of the border. Megan McArdle reports for Bloomberg: Of the plans that states have hatched for the Affordable Care Act, none has been bolder than that of Vermont, which wants to implement a single-payer health-care system, along the lines of what you might find in Britain or Canada. One government-operated system will cover all 620,000 of Vermont’s citizens. The hope is that such a system will allow Vermont to get costs down closer to Canada’s, as well as improve health by coordinating care and ensuring universal coverage. Heady stuff for progressives. This has been their dream all along for American medicine. And now they get their chance. But as Ms. McArdle reports, there are a few problems: Just two small issues need to be resolved before the state gets to all systems go: First, it needs...(Read Full Post)