Letters

St. Albans Messenger Seventeen years ago in 2007 the American, and Vermont’s, healthcare imbroglio compelled me to make an awful decision. I had to bargain with a hospital for how much I was willing to pay to save my life. I was ransoming myself. I was uninsured and needed a certain operation to stay alive. […]

Addison Independent Like many others I attended the local meeting described in “State healthcare system needs Rx” (8/1/24) to learn about the results of the $1.1 million study commissioned by the Green Mountain Care Board. Yes, indeed, the information presented was grim, but one wonders if this study is just “one more study.” We already […]

The Commons BRATTLEBORO-A consultant re-summarizing problems already well-known to executives and board members feels very familiar to many of us. Suggesting that hospitals alone should come together and begin solving problems over which they have very little control does what consultants have done for decades: It restates obvious challenges without providing feasible solutions. The conclusion […]

Bennington Banner How much longer can we ignore the real healthcare problem? Vermont is currently debating the financial health of the state’s hospitals. That’s a crucial question. But the plight of Vermont’s hospitals is a symptom, not a disease. The disease is a horrendous complexity and waste that permeates healthcare. For example, there are now […]

Seven Days So the University of Vermont Medical Center is hitting up the Green Mountain Care Board for a multimillion-dollar Certificate of Need to construct a new surgical facility [“Pre-Op Exam: UVM Medical Center Asks State Regulators to Approve a $130 Million Surgical Facility,” May 29]. This is an old song that we’ve heard so […]

Times Argus I want to respond to “Medicaid cuts” by Karen Saunders on H.721, the Medicaid expansion bill that, sadly, has been consigned to a “study.” Since Saunders could not have said it better, I will just add to her piece. I am one of the 30,000 Vermonters recently kicked off of Medicaid in the […]

Brattleboro Reformer To the Editor: I’ve been reading a lot lately about Vermont bill H. 721 to expand Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid to include people who have a higher income than the current threshold is a laudable aim, but the bill, as originally written, leaves many people out. Anybody who’s over 65 or disabled doesn’t get […]

Caledonian Record To the Editor: There has been a lot of discussion about how rising healthcare costs are indeed driving up property taxes. I haven’t seen any recognition that these costs are a major reason that everything costs so much. The price of everything you buy includes an amount for the health care of every […]

VTDigger The article “With a flurry of legislation, Vermont lawmakers try to bring down health care costs” was interesting in how many disparate bills are taking a whack at the impossible. I am not criticizing the bills or the courageous efforts of our legislators in proffering them, except to reiterate what has been obvious all […]

Caledonian Record To the Editor: Do you realize that GM spends more on healthcare than it does on steel? That’s what Gary Cowger, president of General Motors’ North American operations revealed back in 2004. [https://www.wardsauto.com/news-analysis/gm-getting-sick-high-health-care-costs] Healthcare costs added “$1,200 to the cost of each GM vehicle.” Surely the situation is far more dire after 19 […]