Why Vermont needs a broader open meeting law

VTDigger Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Dr. Anna Carey, a family physician in Burlington. The newest trend for health care reform is “accountable care.” In 2006 Elliott Fischer of Dartmouth proposed this new kid on the block to reform our health care woes and created the name, accountable care organization (ACO). Vermont’s Fletcher Allen […]

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Addressing inadequate health coverage

Brattleboro Reformer Almost every week, here in Vermont, patients come to see me who are self-pay — a euphemism for having no health insurance. Sometimes they have delayed seeking care, because of their lack of insurance, until a relatively small problem has progressed to becoming a dangerous one. Numerous other patients I see aren’t self-pay, […]

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Addressing inadequate health coverage

Brattleboro Reformer Almost every week, here in Vermont, patients come to see me who are self-pay — a euphemism for having no health insurance. Sometimes they have delayed seeking care, because of their lack of insurance, until a relatively small problem has progressed to becoming a dangerous one. Numerous other patients I see aren’t self-pay, […]

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Ensuring affordable health care for all

VTDigger Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Dr. Bill Wood, an ear, nose and throat specialist who practices in Brattleboro. Almost every week, here in Vermont, patients come to see me who are “self-pay” – a euphemism for having no health insurance. Sometimes they have delayed seeking care, because of their lack of insurance, until […]

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Economic Development Disguised as Health Care Reform

Rutland Herald Businesses face an all too familiar annual decision: Living in a competitive environment with labor costs rising, how much health insurance do I provide my employees? How much do I pay, how much do they pay? What is a reasonable plan, what level of deductible, what level of copay? I know that health […]

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Keep Vermont Strong

VTDigger Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Peter Sterling, the director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security [1], a nonprofit organization that works to educate Vermonters about and assist them in enrolling in Vermont’s public health care programs: Catamount Health, VHAP and Dr Dynasaur. Hurricane Irene made headlines when it tore apart communities […]

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Analysis: Shumlin Has Much Left To Do On Health Care Agenda

VPR Hamilton E. Davis On a quiet morning in late February, Jonathan Martin, a political analyst for Politico, a leading national Web site, published a speculative piece about Hillary Clinton’s effect on the 2016 presidential election. Given her immense popularity, the possibility that Clinton might run is blocking the next generation of Democratic leaders from […]

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Community Forum: Health records problems must be solved

Addison Independent By Marvin MalekThis week’s writer is Dr. Marvin Malek, MD MPH, who is an internist working at Central Vermont Hospital in Berlin. The financial problem that occurred recently at Porter Hospital isn’t the first and won’t be the last cost overrun we’ll see in Vermont related to the adoption of electronic health records […]

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Comment and Debate: Health care reform – Designing the best system

Burlington Free Press As we see more and more of our dollars going toward the rising costs of health care, it is critically important that we continue our efforts to control costs while providing better care for all Vermonters. The governor remains committed to this goal and we are working tirelessly toward achieving this much-needed […]

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A new market place

Brattleboro Reformer In 2014 the world of health insurance will look very different for about 250,000 Vermonters. According to state officials, up to 40 percent of the state’s population could be buying their insurance through something called Vermont Health Connect, the state’s version of the federally mandated exchange. More enlightened health policy advocates think we […]

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