To the Editor:
I have witnessed and felt the impacts of the healthcare system’s many manifestations over the course of my lifetime. My parents spent nearly two decades paying off medical bills from my younger brothers’ stints in the hospital with infant asthma. I was forced to put off graduate school for several years after breaking my collarbone and using my savings on the subsequent costs. My wife and I will be paying off a $5,600 tax bill for the foreseeable future after trying to navigate and utilize Vermont Health Connect. The Affordable Care Act was inadequate, and the version being crafted now will certainly be worse. It is a cruel joke to call our system the best in the world, when the market-based, pay-to-play format benefits the wealthy and insurance and pharmaceutical companies over regular people. I am a proud member of the Vermont Workers Center and stand with all citizens who recognize that the time for a single payer system is now. The state legislature must fulfill the promise of Act 48.
— Mike Leonard
South Burlington