Letters

VTDigger Dear Editor: The people designing health insurance plans have lost touch with a basic fact: For many Vermonters, healthcare is a luxury they can’t afford. I was glad to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield canceled its proposed “Vermont Basic” health plans. The debate over this proposal showed just how completely disconnected the people […]

Rutland Herald Gov. Scott has proposed healthcare changes, including allowing insurers to take age into account in setting premium. He says “None of these ideas are radical … we know they work, because we’ve seen how these practical reforms have helped other states expand affordable choices, strengthen their insurance markets, and reduce costs.” On that […]

Bennington Banner To the Editor: Regarding “Vermont’s healthcare crisis is real – S.190 wasn’t the solution,” the authors point to a successful example of referenced-based pricing for California’s public employee retirement system (CalPERS) in one paragraph, then parrot the Governor’s complaint that, because S.190 applied only to Qualified Health Plans and Vermont Education Health Initiative […]

A universal financing system would let hospitals prioritize community needs over profitable services By Ellen Oxfeld VTDigger Dear Editor, In his recent commentary for VTDigger, James Hodge was correct in his observation about proposed hospital transformation plans: Simply applying the same prices to a small hospital as a large hospital will not work in our […]

VTDigger When insurance companies delay life-saving treatment, patients pay the price. By Walter Carpenter The recent commentary in VTDigger regarding prior authorization was spot on. Prior authorizations are indeed “prior aggravations” for both patients and physicians. As a patient who nearly lost his life from such aggravations 20 years ago, I know firsthand what this means.  […]

Seven Days [“UVM Medical Center Is Losing $460,000 Every Day,” April 17, online] failed to mention the University of Vermont Medical Center’s $1 billion-plus in reserves. Did the reporter lack time to investigate how UVM Medical Center losses compare to the institution’s profits in the $1.5 billion range over the past three to five years? […]

Seven Days Headlines about “advancing” health care reforms would be encouraging if Vermonters weren’t already living the crisis Seven Days documented back in January. Your January 22 episode of “Stuck in Vermont” and follow-up Q&A [“An Apple a Day: Vermonters Are Struggling With the Rising Costs of Health Insurance, and Some Are Choosing to Go […]

Brattleboro Reformer To the Editor: If the nurses and support staff of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital decide to strike, I will stand by them. As the cost of living continues to rise, they are facing cuts to critical benefits such as healthcare, paid time off, union rights, as well as a 3-year wage freeze. In their […]

Rutland Herald Having health insurance is not a goal in itself. The goal is to be able to get health care when you need it. If you have health insurance but can’t get health care when you need it, your insurance has failed in its only purpose. That’s why the idea of “underinsured” is just […]

Seven Days [“Manage Your Care: To Lower Health Costs, Vermont’s Largest Insurance Company Is Urging Patients to Shop Around,” January 14] was a breathtaking display of arrogance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. It was also an insult to us, as patients, and to humanity in general. By urging Vermonters to “become savvier consumers,” […]