It's time to sign up for health care

August 23, 2007

It seems that too many of us have the high price of health care on our minds.

In Vermont more than 60,000 of our friends, co-workers and neighbors are currently uninsured. Here in Rutland County, more than 5,600 people do not have health insurance. Thousands more of our neighbors throughout Vermont have insurance, but can only afford high $2,000, $5,000 and even $10,000 deductible "catastrophic" plans, many of which offer no hospitalization or primary care coverage. Of those who qualify for VHAP or other Vermont Medicaid programs, roughly 51 percent have not taken advantage of this coverage.

To help Vermonters enroll in Catamount Health and Vermont's Medicaid programs, AARP Vermont, the Vermont National Education Association, the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and the Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health joined together to form a new group called the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security Education Fund. The fund's primary purpose is to work toward the goal of assisting all eligible Vermonters to enroll in one of the state health care programs, be it Catamount Health, Medicaid, or VHAP.

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