by State Representative Brian Cina Monday marked the birth of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famed civil rights activist and the conscience of our nation during a pivotal era in the struggle for human rights in United States history. Dr. King stated that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.”
In the 56 years since the passing of Dr. King, health inequities have worsened- especially for the most vulnerable people- with significant disparities for Black people, Indigenous people and other people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities.
Affordability remains one of the greatest barriers for access to health care. An estimated 44% of Vermonters under the age of 65 are underinsured and cannot afford the cost-sharing required to access health insurance benefits for which they pay massive premiums, which increased 7.5% to 14.4% from 2023 to 2024, depending on the private insurance plan.
After years of progress that brought the rate of uninsured Vermonters down to 3% in 2021, thousands of people are currently uninsured in Vermont, many who may be eligible but who have fallen through the holes of a tattered social safety net. Over 30,000 Vermont residents have been kicked off of Medicaid since cutoffs began last spring, following Congress’ decision to end pandemic protections for the program.
Despite ongoing efforts to expand access to health care, it is impossible to control the cost of care in a system designed for the few to profit from the suffering of the many. Due to concerns about long-term cost, the government failed to deliver on the promise of Act 48, still embedded in Vermont law, which states “it is the intent of the general assembly to...provide, as a public good, comprehensive, affordable, high-quality, publicly financed health care coverage for all Vermont residents... regardless of income, assets, health status, or availability of other health coverage.”
It took a mass movement for Vermont to lead the nation by committing to providing healthcare as a public good, not a commodity, and it is going to take a mass movement to fulfill the dream of Act 48 and to guarantee health care as a human right. In order to move forward in our struggle for universal health care, we are excited to announce the launch of the Universal Healthcare Caucus.
We will be holding monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of the month in Montpelier, bringing together the community, including policy makers from the state and federal levels, to explore every possible pathway towards universal health care.
Please join us for our press conference at the State House in the Cedar Creek Room on January 17th, 2024 at 12:15 PM. Our press conference will feature stories of people with direct experience as advocates, policy makers, providers, and most importantly, as patients- including the uninsured, underinsured, and others facing injustice in health.
Source: 1.15.2024. Brian Cina. VT State Representative, Chittenden 15. Burlington
