BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The leader of Vermont’s largest health care institution, UVM Medical Center, and Senator Bernie Sanders sat down together on Friday night to discuss the state’s health care crisis.
There’s no simple fix to lower the cost of care in our state, but Senator Sanders made it no secret that he thinks UVM Health’s CEO, Dr. Stephen Leffler, can be doing a lot more.
Bernie Sanders declared Dr. Stephen Leffler, the CEO of UVM Health, the “Health Care Czar” of Vermont. “Tonight, I’m proud to make you the Health Care Czar of Vermont,” said Sen. Sanders.
It was half a joke, but a real task to help fix our system. The ceremony happened in front of a few hundred people in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Burlington. The bestowing of the grand title was part of a larger conversation on how to bring down patient health care costs.
“I think if the hospitals of this country stood up and said, The American people are tired of getting ripped off,’ you have a lot of support from the American people, but I just don’t see the hospitals doing that, and I’d appreciate you playing a stronger role in that if you could,” said Sanders.
UVM Medical Center is the largest hospital in the University of Vermont Health’s network. Two-thirds of all hospital spending in the state goes through them. The medical center has been criticized by regulators for its runaway expenses.
“We have to figure out how to control our expenses better,” said Dr. Leffler.
Dr. Leffler went on to explain that a lot of that expensive care is mental health care, pediatrics, and services for sick, older Vermonters. As more of the population turns 65, their insurance turns to Medicare. The federally sponsored health insurance reimburses at lower rates. Hospitals, in turn, shift costs onto private insurance. Demographic shifts and lower reimbursement rates aren’t just a problem for hospitals.
“How do you see Medicare evolving to actually pay providers enough to attract new providers, especially to rural areas or to keep the ones that we have if we’re all to shift to Medicare for all?” said physical therapist Jennifer Simpson.
Leffler shared that the network is on a five-year plan to break even with Medicare reimbursement spending. He promised to work with other hospitals, schools, and Sanders to make care in his network more affordable.
