Grass-roots groups: the town criers of health care reform

If the myriad federal and state proposals for health care reform sometimes confuse those who provide health care, they often are even more mysterious to private citizens, whose tax dollars will invariably support a reformed system and who will be the ultimate purchasers of the care that it delivers. Some states are attempting not only to demystify the process for their residents but also to engage them in the reform debate. The following article, reprinted with permission from the November-December 1993 issue of State Government News, describes several such activities. It was brought to DPU's attention by Michelle Champoux, a social worker/consultant who has been active in the Vermont Ethics Network that the article describes.