MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont is poised to require that all residents have health insurance.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott late last month quietly signed into law a bill that will include a penalty for those who don’t have insurance. The mandate is scheduled to take effect in 2020.

A spokeswoman for the state’s largest private health insurance provider said the mandate provides stability.

Nationally, many have rebelled against the idea the federal government could tell them what they needed to buy.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a similar law days later.

The two states join Massachusetts, which has had the mandate for years. A number of other states are considering an insurance requirement.


Last year Congress voted to undo the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act. That is effective next year.