Editor’s note: This commentary is by Darcie Johnston, who is president of Vermonters for Health Care Freedom.
[T]he Green Mountain Care Board was faced with an important decision recently regarding UVM Medical Center’s excess revenues. The medical center proposed returning $17 million of the $29 million excess revenue to ratepayers and reserving $12 million to develop housing related to low income persons with medical needs, rather than returning all $29 million to the ratepayers.
The board ultimately decided, with the chair breaking a tie, to agree to UVMMC’s proposal. UVMMC’s proposal or the option of returning all the $29 million to the ratepayers would have been a better choice. Ratepayers should not have to pay for housing development in a “hidden tax” on their insurance rates. Nor should the ratepayers be asked to bail out the state, again, for the self-inflicted and ever increasing Medicaid burden and its disastrous impacts on Vermont health insurance rates.
So the medical center will embark on development of housing. Wait, aren’t there a multitude of well-funded agencies who are supposed to meet Vermont’s housing needs? Well, as a matter of fact, there are.
Vermont has a well-developed and well-run affordable housing sector. It is funded with private equity, loans, federal dollars and state dollars. Those state dollars are allocated by the Legislature after thoughtful deliberation of the needs of Vermonters and their ability to pay the taxes required to support government activities.
If the GMCB’s job is to be a regulator focused on reducing health care costs they have failed the public and capitulated to special interests and the political class.
The medical community should not get involved in placing a hidden tax addition burden on taxpayers. It is not their expertise and it is not good public policy.
This is why Vermonters are frustrated and angry.
Property taxes, income taxes and insurance rates (including the hidden healthcare taxes) are ever increasing but there seems to be no one in state government making smart choices about how these dollars are utilized.
All of this points to a vacuum of leadership in our state, from the governor, Legislature, appointed boards and our largest institutions in education, health care and human services which have become virtual monopolies.
And finally, why was there a rush in the part of the GMCB to decide the use of the $29 million? Would it have been more prudent to wait, explore the possibility of collaboration with housing entities before deciding and possibly return more than $17 million to the ratepayers, thus forcing the state to make a better decision on overall spending? If the GMCB’s job is to be a regulator focused on reducing health care costs they have failed the public and capitulated to special interests and the political class.
The GMCB was faced with a difficult decision and they failed. The simple solution was to give the money back to the people who paid it. Common sense and good public policy.
