General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders talks universal Medicare, and 1.1 million people click to watch him [View all]Sophia4
(3,515 posts)for-profit insurance?
That is the number that should be compared to how much the taxes would go up.
Vermont has a very small population and thus, problems with access to healthcare as well as to a very high cost for its healthcare. It is an example of a state with a tiny population that, whether we are talking about private insurance or single payer (either government or non-profit insurance, single-payer referring to the money being taken from all paychecks, thus single-payer which can include a number of non-profit insurance companies), costs are going to be exorbitantly high and accessibility low. Vermont would benefit if it joined with other states in the area to provide single payer insurance to its citizens.
Competition may sound like the answer to bring down Vermont's health care costs, but Amy Vaughan, director of revenue for UVM Medical Center, said the state is too small to support the diversity of health care businesses found in a state like Massachusetts. Vermont has 626,000 residents. Massachusetts has nearly 6.8 million.
But backers of the proposed Green Mountain Surgery Center disagree, saying the facility, if built, would lower prices and the center would also bring price transparency for other health care services now only available from UVM Medical Center.
Amy Cooper, executive director of HealthFirst and a partner in Green Mountain Surgery Center, said, for example, she anticipates a colonoscopy at the proposed Colchester surgery center will be priced in the range of $1,000 to $1,500. UVM Medical Center charges $3,500 for a colonoscopy while Porter Medical Center in Middlebury charges $2,500, according to Dr. Paul Reiss, of Evergreen Family Health, an independent practice in Williston.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/03/12/high-costs-few-options-vt-health-care/98685848/
626,000 residents is a really, really small population for much of anything. Can you imagine Vermont trying to deal with a natural disaster without the federal government's assistance. If the damages were high, the aftermath of a natural disaster would be a disaster itself.
Vermont has a tiny population. European and other countries that have single payer have a larger pool that pays into the system. You need a balance of sick and well, and of old and young. If we do single payer, we may want to merge Medicare into it, thus, the Medicare for all idea.