Published in Times Argus, Vermont
By Stuart E. Williams, M.D. Family Physician Berlin
It is time for Vermont to establish a universal coverage, single-payer health-care system. We already have a network of excellent non-profit hospitals and well-trained health professionals in Vermont. Our quality of health care ranks with the best states in the nation. Yet high administrative costs, underfunding of Medicaid, and especially, the increasing numbers of uninsured and under-insured Vermonters are threatening our ability to maintain this quality of care.
We can overcome these threats by making a bold move in Vermont. A unified system for health-care reimbursement would reduce administrative costs by 30 percent, eliminate cost-shifting, increase our purchase power for medications and, most importantly, provide equitable health-care coverage for all Vermonters. This can be done in a way that distributes the financial burden fairly and maintains patients’ choices of providers. We are fortunate to have imaginative and compassionate leaders in state government who are capable of forming a state-wide unified health payment system, but they need our encouragement and support. Many communities will offer voters a chance to support a universal health referendum on Town Meeting day. Legislators also pay attention to calls and letters from their constituents. Let us broaden this discussion and encourage debate on specific plans to achieve reform. All Vermonters deserve access to quality health care.