Vermont Business Magazine On Wednesday, July 22, union and community members attend a press conference demanding that Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHC) stop outsourcing union jobs to a private company, Medisund, based out of Florida that services Vermonters using call centers in India.
Last Monday, management at Community Health Centers announced it would lay off two-thirds of the billing department at CHC, along with two health information management (HIM) representatives. This comes after management signed a contract in June 2025 with Medusind - a contract that the union estimates is worth millions of dollars over the three-year term.
“Over 120 CHC employees, representing a variety of different job classifications and every CHC location, have signed a petition asking management and the board to stop outsourcing our jobs and instead keep CHC’s work in house. This won’t save money, but will negatively impact patients.” said Ivory Tanguay of Community Health United.
The petition demands include:
● Be transparent about the financials of the organization
● Collaborate with the union to develop alternatives to overworking and/or firing employees
● Stop spending millions of dollars outsourcing billing to Medusind; a 3rd party company and reverse cuts in the billing department.
● Provide transparency around the 3 year Medusind contract - was this a huge mistake by leadership or an effort to sell out billing from the start?
● A seat on the CHC Board appointed by Community Health United
● Commit to advocating with CHU for universal healthcare next legislative session”
“This is a scenario where the money is there, CHC is consciously prioritizing outsourcing of jobs over their employees and community - it's the opposite of what this organization is supposed to stand for.” said Shannon Hinton, an impacted employee in the billing department.
“When people get a medical bill, it’s stressful, they’re often scared and overwhelmed. They don’t need a script. They need someone who knows CHC and Vermont, knows our financial assistance programs, and knows how to help. Instead, we’ve replaced local expertise with a remote call center.” said Samuel Lurie, a behavioral health clinician at CHC.
“They should stop paying this third party company immediately, work with not against their employees to come up with innovative solutions, and reverse these cuts.” said Ivory Tanguay, a Patient Service Representative.