• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Springfield, Vt., Health Care Forum Addresses Single-Payer System

Posted on: Thursday, 22 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 21--SPRINGFIELD -- The only way to bring about affordable health care across Vermont is a single payer system, a Barre, Vt., doctor argued passionately at a health care forum held in Springfield The fourth forum sponsored by Gov. Jim Douglas in Tuesday featured the underlying debate Vermonters have heard before: addressing cost versus increasing access.

Several speakers backed a single payer system, while others said unless health care costs are controled no financing system will be able to keep up.

Dr. Marvin Malek, an intern at the Barre Health Center in Barre, Vt., took a different tack. Malek believes the trend toward higher deductible health insurance discriminates against primary care physicians as more patients chose to forego treatment they cannot afford. He passed out medical records showing patients in need of care canceling appointments.

"A $5,000 deductible is as good as having no health insurance," he said.

Malek also took sharp aim at administrative costs, a "completely dysfunctional" aspect he described as "nonsense." He showed the audience of around 50 people, the lowest turnout at Douglas' four forums, records showing how much time is spent fighting insurance companies.

Douglas is holding the forums in advance of a health care summit that will help the governor draft a new plan for addressing health care in Vermont. He stood attentively as Malek spoke in favor of a plan Douglas has said he does not support.

Most of the people who spoke during the forum favored a single payer approach. William Stearns, vice president of human resources at the Brattleboro Retreat, said insurance companies are profiting while employers and employees are getting squeezed.

Douglas pointed out the largest insurer in Vermont, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is a nonprofit company.

Edith Hunter of Weathersfield said the public is ready for a publicly financed single payer system and chided Douglas for going away from the Legislature on this issue. Hunter also described taxes as not being a burden but an "opportunity for citizens to work together for a common need." She favors income taxes as the fairest method of paying for a single payer system.

Springfield Hospital Chief Executive Officer Glenn Cordner tried to steer the debate back to costs, saying enacting a single payer system would provide a "short term sense of satisfaction" but no long term solution without addressing costs. Cordner said reducing the demand for health care is the key to reducing costs.

Others disagreed.

CEO Paul Millman of Chroma Technology in Rockingham sparred with the governor briefly over Douglas' idea to use a premium tax to fund insurance for the uninsured. Millman said this tax would be passed along and disputed the idea demand can be easily reduced.

"Good people still get cancer," he said. "Good people still have heart attacks. The cost will still be there." Beth Kiendl, a nurse from Brattleboro, said she feels a "moral mandate" exists to for "society to offer equality of care." Douglas pointed out one of the difficulties Vermont faces. As the state is now the second oldest in the nation in terms of average age, more older residents means more people entering the most expensive health care stage of their lives.

"We really need to look at a whole new system," said Ruth Cody of Springfield, who described Vermont as having a unique opportunity to deal with health care.

Malek said health care costs in countries with single payer systems are cheaper than the U.S., citizens have longer life expectancies and can negotiate better deals for prescription drugs. He doubted much can be done on the growing costs of prescription drugs while President George Bush is in office. But Douglas said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, will introduce a bill for a drug reimportation program soon.

The governor also said a federal court in Burlington Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by his administration against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a drug reimportation program for state employees.

-----

Copyright (c) 2005, Eagle Times, Claremont, N.H.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Eagle Times, Claremont, New Hampshire

More News in this Category