House looks to spend soda tax money on health care

MONTPELIER — A Vermont House committee is zeroing in on a plan to spend about $12 million on stepped up public health education and access to health care for low- and moderate-income Vermonters.
The money would come from the $24.3 million expected to be raised from a new penny-per-ounce tax committee members want to levy on sugar-sweetened beverages.
The balance of that money would allow the state to stop collecting an annual fee of about $500 per employee for employers who don’t provide health insurance for their workers.
Lawmakers are working on the changes as the state prepares to launch the new health care marketplace, or exchange, under the federal affordable care act.

4 Responses to House looks to spend soda tax money on health care

  1. Too bad, you shouldn’t spend money you don’t have. If government would stop WASTING our money, they wouldn’t have to keep taking it from us in the form of taxes. This state,ne, this country is tax and spend happy.

  2. gotta love the nanny state!  Soda from new hampshire anyone?

  3. Ok, I just read this article is it me would it not makes sense to take some of the sugar out of the drink versus imposing a sugar tax ?? I’m just saying sounds like common sense to me.

    • @Curtman40
       That makes sense but scummie shummie needs a way to pay for the single payer health insurance he passed. He also is trying to ration health care by promoting physician assisted suicide. Guess he thinks the elderly and ill people aren’t worth spending money on. The man only knows tax and spend. He has no respect for life.

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