On August 12, the Green Mountain Care Board approved a 19.8% increase for BlueCross BlueShield premiums on Vermont Health Connect individual plans, along with a 22.8% increase for small group plans. This is the third year in a row with double-digit rate increases.
As a longtime member of the Vermont Workers’ Center, I’ve been helping to lead the “health care is a human right” campaign since 2008. In 2011, the Vermont Workers’ Center and our partners were instrumental in gaining passage of Vermont’s landmark universal health care law that remains in state statute, with its promise unfilled.
As a unionized state employee for 18 years (recently retired) I benefited from a mostly publicly funded, comprehensive health insurance program. continue reading