Below is a message from VPIRG board member Dr. Michael Scollins.
Health care in an advanced society such as ours should be a right, not a privilege. The U.S. has available the best health care in the world, but it lacks a system to deliver it equitably. Approximately 30% of our population are un- or under-insured, and health care costs are too high and continuing to rise in an unsustainable and irrational fashion. Almost all experts agree that radical reform is desperately needed both to ensure universal care delivery, and to curb costs.
Sign our petition to support health care for all Vermonters.
In our new system called “Green Mountain Care”, being a citizen would be the only required criterion for participation. The goal will be to stop the rise in costs, and to create a system that is more effective, equitable and affordable than the patchwork now in place. While devising an equitable funding mechanism will be daunting, it must be remembered that we are now paying—one way or another—for all our health care.
Help make sure everyone gets the coverage they deserve.
Moving to a publicly funded universal health care system will be a “heavy lift”, but we need to remember what we are working for. We have the opportunity to create the nation’s first truly equitable system, simple and logical in concept and implementation that will ensure quality care for ALL Vermont citizens. Please take a minute to sign VPIRG’s petition in support of universal health care so that we can all get the health care we deserve.
Dr. Mike Scollins
VPIRG Board Member
Dr. Scollins is a retired primary care internist who practiced medicine in Vermont for 35 years. He spent 20 years in his own practice at Aesculapius Medical Center in South Burlington, before joining forces with Fletcher Allen Health Care (FAHC) – a partnership that last an additional 15 years. Mike is a former President of FAHC medical staff and spent time as one of their attending physicians. He also served as a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at UVM College of Medicine. Mike has a special interest in cardiovascular prevention, adverse drug reactions, innovative models for health care delivery and cost control. He joined VPIRG as a trustee in 2010.