Letters

Times Argus Although not his intention, George Malek’s commentary (“Reallocating health care costs,” July 14) was an excellent case on why we need publicly funded universal care. Mr. Malek, the executive director of the Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce, stated, “Some employers offer platinum health care plans, others no plan at all.” This has been […]

Rutland Herald Regarding John McClaughry’s recent negative commentary in the Rutland Herald on Vermont’s Act 48, readers should keep the following in mind: As the ideological guru and founder of the Ethan Allen Institute (EAI) Mr. McClaughry, along other members of EAI, will almost always favor any so-called “free market” business enterprise over a government-run […]

Rutland Herald Twenty thousand dollars. This was the hospital’s “going rate” for the operation I needed to stay alive. I knew the operation. I had already logged three of them for the liver disease (from natural causes) which had nearly killed me that year. I had health insurance through an employer. I lost this during […]

The Herald of Randolph John McClaughry’s “VA Hospital Scandal Is a Warning Sign for Single-Payer” (6/26) draws a very sketchy conclusion. It’s one thing to criticize VA healthcare behavior that is, indeed, indefensible; it’s another thing altogether to try to tie that behavior to a “single payer” theme, then to Canadian healthcare in general, and […]

Times Argus This is about the article regarding the state providing data on health care costs in Thursday’s Times Argus. While it is applaudable to have that data, it will prove unusable until we get to a single-payer system. At the moment people are controlled by their insurance company to stay within the network. So […]

The Caledonian Record To the Editor: John McLaughry’s Three Single Payer Health Care Systems (6/24) laments the state of VA healthcare, laments the state of Canadian healthcare and laments what he considers the inevitable failure of Vermont’s planned universal care system, Green Mountain Care. John McLaughry laments a lot. But John McLaughry doesn’t ever address […]

Caledonian Record To the Editor: Your editorial, When Government Runs Health Care (June 18) should give readers cause to reflect on one of the virtues of changing to a universal health care system for Vermonters by comparing Blue Cross Blue Shield to the Veterans Administration. Vermont BCBS is by Vermont law, a not-for-profit insurer; that […]

Burlington Free Press As we get closer to actually implementing Act 48, Vermont’s universal single-payer health care system in 2017, the pressure to dilute the act through compromise has proportionally increased. The extremely well-financed opponents of single-payer universal health care for whatever reason — be it self interest, ideology or party affiliation — have only […]

The Times ArgusBy: Jerry Kilcourse, MontpelierThe recent article in The Times Argus by Peter Hirschfeld “Increases fuel single-payer debate” should call attention to our overly complicated and administratively heavy health care system. Until it is simplified with a universal/single-payer plan for all, health care costs will never be reduced or even contained. It is a systemic […]

Bennington BannerBy: G. RICHARD DUNDAS, Bennington We read in the Banner that as many as 40 Veterans may have died in Phoenix because they could not get needed care at the VA hospital. This is truly outrageous (surely an overused adjective but probably better than disgraceful). We must do better for our Veterans. Here is […]