by Melinda Moulton The Vermont Legislature is taking up Universal Primary Care. It is Bill H.185. Hypothetically, let’s imagine a person who is diagnosed with a debilitating disease. He works part-time for a company that offers health insurance, but it has a $6,000 deductible and co-pays. He chooses not to go to the doctor because of the costs. He postpones his care for several years. The outcome is disastrous. When he turns 65, he enrolls in Medicare and purchases an affordable supplemental policy, but it also has a deductible. By the time he receives the care he needs, his health has deteriorated, and the costs to treat him are astronomical.
With Vermont’s Universal Primary Care Program, he would have visited his family doctor to monitor and guide his care, for free. Vermont can nationally set the standard for health care policy. Our little state can take one step forward to join dozens of countries that provide some form of Universal Health Care for their citizens.
(https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-universal-healthcare)
Primary Care is the care you receive from your family doctor. You get your annual physical, which covers checking all your vitals, blood and lab tests, heart and lung function, and confirming your medications. It is the once-over that guides your goals for living a healthy lifestyle. It is your Primary Care doctor who refers you to a specialist for further care and who receives the reports in order to determine your next steps.
The Primary Care physician focuses on preventive measures to keep you healthy. Your primary doctor is the first to go to when you are sick. They are your lifeline to health. But so many people forgo this care because of the costs, lack of insurance, and fear of further medical referrals that can cause real financial hardship, which they cannot afford. Free and accessible preventive care is important to the entire medical economic model because detecting health issues early and addressing them reduces costs.
If you allow yourself to get sicker and sicker, in time you will end up needing more intensive care, and that care can be much more expensive than if the medical illness had been dealt with earlier on. 44.5% of Vermont’s Medical Costs are Hospital Costs. Keeping patients out of the hospital is an economic strategy that can be realized with good primary care oversight.
Universal Primary Care is the first step toward creating a medical system in Vermont that provides access and affordability for those who often avoid the cost of seeing their doctor. As for the cost to provide free primary care, look at what Vermonters and Vermont businesses pay for insurance for themselves and their employees right now. The administrative burdens created by health networks and insurance plans are astronomical – almost 25% of total national health care expenditures.
(htttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2785479)
Vermont has one of the highest healthcare costs in the U.S., with increases in insurance premiums rising every year.
This economic reality is debilitating. We can do better. This Bill H.185 is making its way through the Legislative process; if adopted, it will take effect on January 1st, 2028. Just imagine living in a State that provides you with free Primary Care to visit your family doctor whose main goal is to keep you healthy. Come on, Vermont - we can lead the way.
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