To The Editor:
In her December 4 editorial, Lisa Loomis asks, “Is there no way to aggregate these people and their benefits to achieve some kind of bargaining power and/or economy of scale?”
The answer is yes – and Vermont already has the legal framework to address this crisis.
Act 48 (Green Mountain Care) states that “systemic barriers, such as cost, must not prevent people from accessing necessary health care.” (18 V.S.A. 9371(1).) We have the foundation. Now, we need action. H.433, the Universal Primary Care bill pending in the Vermont House, offers a concrete first step. It should be taken up immediately in the coming session. Contact Representatives Dara Torre (
VEHI's track record shows why this matters. Despite being a self-insurance plan (presumably with the bargaining power asked for in the editorial), VEHI has failed to control costs – averaging over 12% annual premium increases for several years. This stands in stark contrast to successful self-insured programs elsewhere. For example, the City of Milwaukee, with only 6,500 employees, held health care costs flat for five years after implementing strategic reforms. Milwaukee spent $139 million on health care in 2011, but costs dropped to $102 million in 2012 and remained stable – even while national employer plans faced 6% annual inflation (Dave Chase, CEO's Guide to Restoring the American Dream, 2017).
VEHI's persistent inflation demonstrates that piecemeal solutions aren't working.
H.433's Universal Primary Care offers Vermont a proven path forward – and the coming legislative session is our opportunity to take it.
Mike Palmer
Flourishing Hospitals,
Middlebury VT
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