Take a look at Vermont health care, then go see 'Sicko'
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By Marvin Malek - Published: June 28, 2007
Many Vermonters may have been surprised to read that a reputable national organization — the Commonwealth Fund — has rated Vermont as having a health system that functions better than most all the other states in the country (Times Argus June 14, 2007).
The thousands of Vermonters who are facing ever higher deductibles on their health insurance —making their insurance barely affordable and rarely usable — are probably quite surprised. The school districts that have faced teachers strikes and property tax increases heavily fueled by ever less affordable health benefit costs are also surprised. Employers who are struggling to provide ever more costly health insurance for their employees also haven't noticed that our state has such a great health system. And the 65,000 Vermonters who have no health coverage are probably the most surprised of all.
But the Commonwealth Fund's analysis probably is correct. Most every other state in the U.S. has even higher health costs, even more uninsured citizens and worse health outcomes.
The lesson we all ought to take away from this article is that we shouldn't look to models within the United States if we truly want to improve our health system in Vermont.
Every other developed nation has better outcomes than we do — better life expectancy, lower rates of disability, and far better infant mortality than we do. Every other developed nation provides cradle-to-grave coverage for every citizen. And on a per capita basis, the other developed countries spend half of what we in the U.S. spend on health care.
I encourage everyone to go to the Savoy Theatre in Montpelier between June 29 and July 19 to see Michael Moore's movie "Sicko." The movie gives an up close and personal look at just a few of the tragedies that our dysfunctional health "care" system inflicts on our fellow citizens — tragedies that would be unheard of in every other developed nation.
But the next step is to look at the models used in the other developed countries. In every one —from Finland to France, from Austria to Australia, everyone pays in — in most cases through taxation that supports a publicly funded health insurance fund. And then everyone gets cared for when they're ill — in most cases, with minimal co-pays and no deductibles.
So if we really want to show leadership to all the other states, we would see to it that our government enact real health reform — and create a publicly-funded, affordable health system that includes all Vermonters throughout our entire lives.
Marvin Malek is a general internist and Medical Director of Barre Internal Medicine.
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