In Vermont, Where Almost Everyone Has Insurance, Many Can't Find or Afford Care

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Health Brief
Nearly all Vermonters have health insurance, but care is tough to find

Analysis by Phil Galewitz and McKenzie Beard
November 20, 2024 at 7:27 a.m. EST
Health Brief
The Washington Post’s essential guide to health policy news

Good morning! I’m Phil Galewitz, a senior correspondent at KFF Health News who writes about Medicaid and state health insurance coverage trends. Please send story tips to [e-mail].

Today’s edition: A look at President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The unusual legal skirmish unfolding behind the Biden administration’s push to loosen federal marijuana restrictions. But first …

Vermont’s high coverage rate doesn’t necessarily equal affordability

Policymakers have long focused on increasing the number of residents insured, thinking it would help Vermont hospital finances and patient care. It hasn’t always worked. (iStock)

Almost all people have health insurance in Vermont, a state famed for its maple syrup and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, yet residents pay the nation’s highest insurance premiums for individual coverage and endure months-long waits for care — and most hospitals here are losing money, according to state reports and interviews with residents and industry officials.

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KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

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