Vermont's HIX As A Path To Single Payer

Vermont health officials have a challenging task explaining to consumers the details and benefits of the state health insurance exchange without being able to say much about how insurance and healthcare will (or will not) change in 2017, when the state is set to transition to a single payer system.

Until that plan is unveiled, probably sometime in 2016, officials at the state insurance exchange, Vermont Health Connect, are charging ahead, leading other state HIXs in technology and policy implementation just as Vermont has lead other states in health reform — with guaranteed insurance issue since 1991, as well as community rating that bars premium variation based on age (going even further than the Affordable Care Act’s 3 to 1 ratio between young and old).

While preparing for enrollment in October, and advertising and IT testing this summer, Vermont Health Connect officials have been holding public forums, explaining some of the current consumer healthcare problems in the state — about 30 percent of Vermonters told the health department in surveys they’ve put off a doctor’s visit or medication refill because of cost concerns — while answering questions about eligibility, subsidies, taxes and business owners' coverage options.