VT Digger: Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Ellen Oxfeld, a member of the boards of the single payer advocacy groups Vermont Health Care for All and Vermont Leads. She lives in Middlebury.
Two new bills (H.207 and S.88) have been introduced with tri-partisan co-sponsorship (Democrat, Republican and Progressive in the House version). They hold the promise of getting Vermont back on track in creating a system where health care is a public good for all Vermonters. They do so by starting at the ground floor in a place that has an impact on all of us – primary care. Primary care is where most of us get most of our care, most of the time. These bills would set up publicly financed, free at point of service, primary care for all Vermonters starting in 2017.
Why should we Vermonters support these proposals? Numerous studies show that primary care is the key medical service in improving population health as a whole and in lowering costs. It makes sense that broad based access to primary care can save money and improve health, for undeterred access to primary care will get people into treatment before their problems are serious, thus reducing their chances of experiencing lengthy hospitalizations or emergency room visits.
But what would this cost?…Click Here to read the entire article.