Anthony Robbins, 85, Dies After Expanding Care for Poor Families in 50 States
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 13
Anthony Robbins, 85, Dies After Expanding Care for Poor Families in 50 States
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 13
Summary
Dr. Anthony Robbins, a former Vermont health commissioner who helped broaden care for low-income families, has died at 85.
At 33, Robbins helped launch Vermont’s statewide WIC program in 1974 by securing a federal grant, creating a model that later spread to all 50 states while reducing the stigma of public assistance.
During his 1973-1976 tenure, Vermont also became the first state to finance dental care for children whose families could not afford it, a program supporters said depended on Robbins’s backing.
Those initiatives made Robbins a notable early architect of public-health programs aimed at poor women, infants and children, and families shut out of basic dental care.