by A new group called Vermont Healthcare 911, formed to combat the “unreasonably high” health care costs of Vermont, calls on the UVM Medical Center for losing $ 119.4 million in 2023 in Medicare patients, while other academic medical centers in the Entire country even broke or even broke or a profit on their medicare patients.
For comparison: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire lost $ 36.9 million in 2023 in Medicare patients, and Maine Medical Center almost even broke and lost $ 8.1 million.
“If a hospital cannot cover his expenses of Medicare patients, they must increase commercial insurance rates,” said former Governor Jim Douglas in a statement. “We always hear from hospital leaders that our aging population is one of the reasons why the costs of health care are high in Vermont. But most of their pear hospitals in the region and throughout the country even break whether making money with the Treating seniors. “
Douglas is co-chair of the leadership council of VCH911, together with Lisa Ventriss, former head of the Roundtable in Vermont Business.
The members of Vermont Healthcare 911 include illogic founder Lisa Groeneveld, Smuggler’s notch owner Bill Stritzler, President Don Tinney of Vermont others.
VCH911 points out that UVMMC De Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) has told that the fact that they lose money for Medicaid patients forces them to charge commercial insurers higher rates to make up for that loss. The GMCB is the Vermont regulator and approves all hospital budgets.
UVM Health Network: Vermont is one of the cheapest Medicare providers in the country
UVM Health Network Chief Media Relations Officer Annie Mackin said it is important to remember that Vermont has one of the lowest costs per Medicare of beneficiary of every state in the country.
“This shows that we are clinically efficient and not perform unnecessary services, but it also means that we record less medicine income than many healthcare providers in other states,” said Mackin.
In addition, Mackin said that UVM Medical Center, unlike many other academic medical centers, is both the academic medical center of the region and the local community hospital, and who need patients with a lower battery of a community hospital, that in The overall payments We are watered from Medicare. “
“Many other academic medical centers (such as Dartmouth) are located in rural areas as defined by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), qualify for extra medicine allowance, but UVM Medical Center is located in a CMS designated ‘Stedelijk She said ‘area’. Increase. “
The UVM Health Network includes the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin and Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, as well as three hospitals in Upstate New York.
Data shows that more than three-quarters of the academic medical centers earn money with medicine patients
Vermont Healthcare 911 said his most important findings show:
- In 2023, 82 (77%) of the 106 academic medical centers reported a care for financial profit for Medicare patients, while 24 (23%) reported a loss.
- Of these 106 academic medical centers, UVMMC reported the sixth largest loss at $ 119,417,240.
- Most academic medical centers in the northeast reported a smaller loss or a financial profit for Medicare patients. Maine Medical Center, where the population is even older than that of Vermont, comes close to breaking, even with Medicare allowances.
VHC911 used data from the National Academy for State Health Policy to incur the analysis of Medicare costs.
“Everyone knows that healthcare is expensive,” said the VHC911 Chris Pearson, a former Senator of the State of Chtenden County, in a statement. “What the data shows is that the Vermont system is particularly expensive and we have to turn that quickly. There is no reason that Vermont should pay the highest insurance premiums in the country. It hurts us all.”
VHC911: Insurance premiums in Vermont are double the national average
VHC911 discovered that between 2018 and 2025 the monthly costs for the Bronze (lowest costs) commercial insurance plan in Vermont grew from $ 422 to $ 808, which is almost double the costs in Maine for $ 464, almost triple the costs in New Hampshire At $ 272, and more than twice the national average of $ 381.
“The premiums of Vermont are double the national average,” said Douglas. “We know that this damages the growth of the job writings and delays our economy.”
Ventriss said in a statement that Vermont Dollars in Health Care must push “further upstream to prevention, primary care and trauma-inspired mental health”, to reduce the total costs of care to everyone in the state.
New organization brings monters from all backgrounds together
Pearson told the Burlington Free Press that the organization has already seen a lot of Momentum with Misters.
“I can’t remember time that trade unions were with CEOs,” said Pearson. “Our strategy is simple. This is a big problem. We are in a crisis. Nothing we say (about health care) is new. What will be needed to concentrate on this completely unacceptable situation? There the coalition came together. “
Dr. Stephen Leffler, President and Chief Operating Officer at UVM Medical Center, said he welcomed discussions about how to make health care more affordable for mosquitoes.
“We are committed to collaborate with our state and federal leaders, community partners and other stakeholders to identify real solutions,” said Leffler.
Please contact Dan d’Ambrosio on 660-1841 or ddambroeksi@ganett.com. Follow it on x @dandambrosiovt.
