By Guy Page
Vermont’s latest health insurance reforms are drawing national attention, with The Wall Street Journal highlighting Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order as a dramatic shift away from the healthcare policies long associated with the home state of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In a July 24 opinion piece titled “Free-Market Health Reform in Bernie Sanders’s Vermont,” Foundation for Government Accountability Data and Analytics Director Hayden Dublois, argues that Vermont is moving in the opposite direction from its abandoned single-payer healthcare ambitions by embracing market-oriented reforms intended to reduce insurance premiums and expand consumer choice.
Dublois, a former Scott administration staffer, calls the governor’s executive order “the most substantial healthcare reforms Vermont has seen in decades.” He points to planned changes including applying for a federal reinsurance program, reviewing regulations affecting small businesses, expanding association health plans, and allowing greater variation in premiums based on age and nicotine use.
According to Dublois, Vermont has the nation’s highest average premiums for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, with benchmark silver plans averaging $1,299 per month. Neighbor New Hampshire is a third of that price for similar coverage.
Dublois estimates that participation in a federal reinsurance program could reduce individual-market premiums by 10% to 15%, similar to results seen in neighboring New Hampshire.
The article argues that Vermont’s strict insurance regulations have reduced competition and driven younger consumers out of the individual insurance market, contributing to rising costs.
Dublois also criticizes the Democratic-controlled Legislature for rejecting broader reforms proposed by Scott earlier this year, noting lawmakers instead passed legislation the governor vetoed in June.
Scott said in his veto message that Vermont’s healthcare system needs “structural reforms that expand affordability, increase choices and ensure savings are shared broadly across the system.”
The Wall Street Journal’s attention reflects growing national interest in Vermont’s healthcare policy, particularly because the state was once viewed as the nation’s leading laboratory for single-payer healthcare before abandoning that effort in 2014 because of its projected cost.
Dublois contends Vermont’s recent policy shift could serve as a model for other states seeking to reduce health insurance costs through market-based reforms. He concludes that while Vermont’s healthcare system still faces significant challenges, the state has begun moving away from policies that contributed to some of the nation’s highest individual-market insurance premiums.
Dublois is scheduled to discuss his WSJ column at 12:20 pm today, July 27,on Chronicle Conversations on WVMT AM 620 and wvmtradio.com.