Health Care For All

VPIRG believes all Vermonters deserve access to quality health care at a cost they can afford. Vermont is a national leader in health care. However, our current system is just the first step on the path towards quality, affordable health care. We've led the nation on health care reform before by creating programs like Dr. Dynasaur. Now it's time to continue that work by making health care affordable for all Vermonters.

Crossover Sees Victories and Challenges for Vermonters Health

Vermont's women scored a great victory in this first half of the session with the Senate's passage of S.340. The bill proposes to cover the cost of all mammograms given in the state of Vermont. Currently, coverage varies based on whether the screening is administered in a doctor's office or in a hospital. With the successful passage of this bill, women seeking these vitally important health screenings would only be required to pay $25 at the time of testing.

Of course there is still more work to be done. First, we must make sure that the House passes S.340 (To read the full text of S.340 click here). We must also ensure that Catamount stays well funded without hurting other health programs, work to ensure that small businesses have the opportunity to buy into Catamount Health (a program that they help finance but receive no benifit from), and finally begin to explore new ways that Vermont can not only cover all of its citizens but do so in a way that is fiscally sustainable and provides the highest standard of care.

Overview

With the passage of the Catamount Health Plan, Vermont now leads the nation in controlling the cost of health care. Catamount will lower the cost of health care for all Vermonters by covering our uninsured. But Catamount is only a first step. We must continue controlling the cost of health care by allowing those paying too much for too little health insurance the ability to buy into a better system at a fair price.

Consider the following:
Health care spending in Vermont totals more than $2.8 billion every year, or more than $4,500 per Vermonter.
Health care costs rose more than twice as fast as wages from 2005-2006.
100,000 Vermonters - more than one in ten of us - would go bankrupt if we suffered a serious accident or illness.

With premiums ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 or more, part-time workers, the self-employed, farmers, and small businesses simply don't have the money to maintain coverage.

VPIRG is Working to Reign in the Cost of Health Care

Vermont is a national leader in health care, but we haven't reached the finish line yet. Our current system is but one step on the path towards quality, affordable health care for all Vermonters. The expansion of Catamount to new groups such as farmers, small businesses, and self-employed will cut costs even further and help our economy grow.

We've led the nation on health care reform before by creating programs like Dr. Dynasaur. Now it's tie to continue the work of making health care affordable for all Vermonters by:

Defending and implementing existing programs like Dr. Dynasaur and Catamount.
Allow underinsured Vermonters - like small businesses, farmers, and others - a chance to buy Catamount benefits at a fair price.
Pave the way forward so all Vermonters may one day see the benefits of a system like Catamount.

Drug Lobby: Profit over Research.

One of the leading reasons health care costs are rising is the cost of prescription drugs. Vermonters pay a higher price per pill on average than the rest of the country. And the cost of prescriptions is rising at a rate three times faster than inflation.

The pharmaceutical industry claims that its high prices are justified by the amount of money they spend in researching and developing new medications. However, that just doesn't make sense when Vermonters could easily cross the border and buy drugs at a cost three times cheaper than they are here in America.

Sadly, R&D is actually a much lower priority for drug companies than they suggest. The government funds a substantial portion of the research and development required to produce any given medicine. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical companies are averaging some of the greatest growth of any industry with profits sometime more than quadrupling in a single year.

In fact recent evidence, brought to light by the former Editor-In-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that major drug companies spend twice as much on marketing and administration than they do on R&D.

Take Action Now!

We all need to work together to make affordable health care for all a reality. Every voice counts and you can make a difference:

Be part of the solution:
You can help by contacting your community leaders and legislators. Ask them to make health care a priority by acting on the issues we’ve mentioned.

Write a Letter to the Editor:
VPIRG can help you write a letter, email or opinion editorial for your local newspaper. We can also offer tips for making sure your letter gets printed.

Host or attend a local lobby meeting:
VPIRG is organizing meetings between constituents and legislators in towns all over Vermont. You can take part by contacting Sean Sarah at 223-8421 ext.6383 or Sean {at} VPIRG.org.

Attend a lobby day at the Vermont State House:
VPIRG and our allies will be organizing one or more events at the Vermont State House in Montpelier to address these concern. Stay in touch to find out details and join the campaign!