Editorials

The Progressive Rather, the plan was killed by conservatives and the health care industry for political reasons before it was ever implemented. by Lee Russ The people intent on killing “Medicare for All” have found a convenient weapon—the fact that Vermont, Bernie Sanders’s own state, passed a law creating a single-payer system in 2011, then killed […]

VTDigger Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ellen Oxfeld, a member of the board of the advocacy group Vermont Health Care for All. She lives in Middlebury. “What if there was a prolonged illness in the family? Should I be pacified by the fact that I only have to come up with $15,000 out of my […]

VTDigger Editor’s note: This commentary is by Susan Aranoff, J.D., who is a senior planner and policy analyst for the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council. Judging from a recent uptick in VTDigger commentaries about health care reform, Vermonters have many questions about our state’s experiment known as the All-Payer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model. None is […]

Bennington Banner By Fay Homan, MD After a decade of federal and state healthcare reform efforts, each with its own catch phrase, acronyms and political perspective, there is one area of remarkable agreement. Any approach to increasing quality and decreasing cost is built on a strong foundation of primary care. However, there simply aren’t enough […]

VTDigger Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ethan Parke, of Monpelier, who is a member of Vermont Health Care for All. A version of this commentary was submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board. Structural and functional problems with the OneCare/All Payer Model are beginning to become evident; the Green Mountain Care Board should take […]

VTDigger Editor’s note: This commentary is by Patrick Flood, the former commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living and former deputy secretary of the Agency of Human Services. He is now retired and lives in East Calais. It is clear that Vermont’s ill-advised plan to turn our […]

Bennington Banner By Ellen Schwartz OneCare Vermont—the private, for-profit company tasked with carrying out the state’s health care payment reform effort—is running into trouble. Disability rights and public health advocates are raising alarms about OneCare’s low Medicaid quality scores and underwhelming primary care investments. The State Auditor’s Office reports that the company failed to reliably […]

Time Argus It has been very interesting to hear all the political pundits and news anchors put their particular spin on the recent Democratic debates. However, as a long-time follower of these events, it seemed that many of the very pointed questions about health care reform were directed at Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s stands […]

VTDiggerBy Barb Wilson Editor’s note: This commentary is by Barb Wilson, of Shoreham, who ran for the Addison-Rutland 1 House Representative seat in 2018, the first time anyone ran as a Democrat in many years. She garnered 42% of the vote. At the March 18 Addison County Legislative Breakfast in Middlebury, I had the opportunity […]

VTDiggerBy Sue AranoffEditor’s note: This commentary is by Susan Aranoff, senior planner and policy analyst for the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council. The Council is a federally funded public board that supports the advocacy of people with developmental disabilities and their family members.One of the most promising features of Vermont’s health care reform effort has been […]