This commentary is by Mary Alice Bisbee of Montpelier, a former hospital and nursing home social worker and a sixth-generation Vermonter who may be reached at maryalicebisbee@gmail.com.
A few months ago, several Vermont nonprofits — including Vermont Healthcare for All, Vermont League of Women Voters and Vermont Physicians for a National Health Program — signed a petition to the Green Mountain Care Board that OneCare, the one and only affordable care organization in Vermont, needs to be shut down and its contract not renewed.
Now the state auditor, Doug Hoffer, is asking OneCare to provide salary compensation dollars that are paid to all employees so Vermonters can understand how OneCare is saving us money!
There is real concern that our tax dollars are being thrown away to this organization that has not been able to defend its budget and appears to only provide another huge layer of administrative costs on top of our ever-rising health care expenses. Capitation is not being used to pay many of our bills. I signed on to OneCare when it first came out and my bills are not being capitated!
One major concern is that OneCare is a for-profit company that tries to act like a nonprofit organization, but is unwilling to provide any safeguards to taxpayers about its finances, as required for nonprofit entities. As the price for health care services continues to skyrocket in the midst of a pandemic, is it any wonder that Vermonters are starting to question the validity of this huge, unfettered enterprise? continue reading