Vermont for Single Payer

01/05/2026

https://www.parkrecord.com/2025/12/27/health-care-is-a-black-eye-for-the-u-s/
“Is U.S. health care — or lack of it — violating human rights?
“Some officials in other countries believe our nation is violating human rights with our inadequate and negligent health-care system.
“When I asked my laptop ‘What do officials in foreign nations say about U.S. health care?’ that was one of the responses I received. Here is the exact wording provided by an Artificial Intelligence overview:
“International bodies have raised concerns about the U.S. system in the context of international law and the right to health, stating the lack of universal access reflects a failure to comply with legal and political obligations to ensure the right to health for its citizens.”
“Isn’t that a condemning comment on our lack of caring for all our citizens?”

"Is U.S. health care — or lack of it — violating human rights?"

01/05/2026

01/04/2026

I’m a doctor. I shouldn’t receive better health care than patients.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/02/health-care-costs-transparent/
“My medical training gave me an advantage most patients don’t have. I knew the short list of likely diagnoses. I knew I didn’t have red-flag symptoms requiring emergency evaluation. That understanding saved me some worry, but it also revealed a deeper problem: Most patients have no way to judge what is urgent, what is routine and which delays are medically necessary and reflect best care (sometimes a stepwise approach is appropriate) versus administratively imposed. They are left navigating a system designed around opacity. This lack of transparency is a long-standing feature of how care is delivered and paid for.
“But my medical knowledge only got me halfway there. The real acceleration came from something most patients simply don’t have: I could call in a favor. I reached out to a colleague — an experienced physical therapist — and the next day he examined me. Within minutes, he could tell my shoulder was beginning to freeze up and said I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. That one courtesy collapsed what would have been weeks or months of waiting on the insurance system into a Monday phone call and a Wednesday appointment. That is not a system working well. It is a work-around available only to insiders.
“When I called to schedule, the transparency continued: My colleague had told me that this doctor didn’t take insurance and let me know exactly what the visit would cost. There were no surprise fees, no prior authorizations, no guessing about what might or might not be covered. Paying out of pocket wasn’t my preference, but it was the only way to get timely care rather than wait months in pain for the condition to resolve. Most people don’t have that option.”

Transparency in prices for medical treatment should be offered to everyone.

01/03/2026

With Trump’s health care cuts, I traveled to Ohio, Mississippi and Alabama — and encountered devastated families bracing for even more difficult challenges.

01/03/2026

https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/commentary-no-one-marry-get-health-insurance-21271552.php
“One think tank estimated that one in four pandemic-era marriages were attributed to the need for health insurance. Likewise, studies support that the need to maintain insurance also keeps people in marriages, a phenomenon called ‘marriage lock.’ Data from the long-running Health and Retirement Study found a 7% increase in divorces in the wake of reaching Medicare eligibility age. A study from Utah State University found that ‘in states where Medicaid was expanded, the likelihood of being newly married decreased by 6.9 percent.’
…
“It doesn’t have to be this way.
“The New York Health Act offers a liberating solution. By consolidating health insurance under a single-payer system, the New York Health Act would ensure New Yorkers can reliably access care while untethering health insurance from one’s job or legal partnerships. In turn, New Yorkers would gain the freedom to make employment and marital choices unconstrained by their need for health insurance.”

By uncoupling insurance from jobs and relationships, the New York Health Act would free us to plan our lives on our own terms.

01/02/2026

Insurers face ‘deteriorating’ 2026 outlook across all markets: Fitch
https://www.beckerspayer.com/financial/21091/?origin=BHRE&utm_source=BHRE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=5766C9953223F2J
“Fitch Ratings has issued a “deteriorating” outlook for the U.S. health insurance industry in 2026, citing persistent medical cost pressures, regulatory uncertainty, and fallout from expiring ACA enhanced subsidies.
“The Dec. 30 report shared with Becker’s projects medical loss ratios for the seven largest publicly traded insurers will reach an average of 87.9% by the end of 2025, with continued increases expected next year.”

01/02/2026

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/aac-subsidies-expire-health-insurance/
“In Hatboro, Montgomery County, wedding photographer Sarah Cunningham said her health insurance premium was $35.79 last month. In January, it jumped to $112.96 — more than triple the cost.
"’I'm a business owner, so I don't have a boss to help me pay for my health insurance,’ Cunningham said. ‘I pay for it. So it's been hard.’
“Cunningham said she earns about $55,000 a year running her business, Sarah Anne Photography, but she's focusing on finances now more than ever.”

Millions of Americans are starting the year 2026 with higher health care premiums.

01/02/2026

https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/unitedhealth-expects-medicare-advantage-enrollment-to-shrink-by-1m
“The Minnesota-based health care giant announced in July it would drop Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 covering more than 600,000 people nationally due in part to rising medical costs and tighter federal funding.
“On Tuesday, executives said enrollment likely will slip by another 400,000 people as enrollees turn to other insurers due to UnitedHealth’s higher prices and reduced benefits.”

UnitedHealth Group expects its Medicare Advantage enrollment will shrink by 1 million people next year, as the insurer trims offerings across the country while focusing on higher profit margins as the nation’ s largest provider of the government-backed coverage. The Minnesota- based health care gi...

01/01/2026

Risk of Burdensome Health Care Spending Over Time in the US https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2842979?guestAccessKey=c714786e-8f99-4a4e-a028-a3a8251e9b7a&utm_medium=email&utm_source=postup_jn&utm_campaign=article_alert-jamainternalmedicine&utm_content=olf-tfl_&utm_term=122225&__cf_chl_tk=FmR2VG5gYAk_RQt3k4SFXZqzl.wPcEwJ7X778.X9kFo-1766926992-1.0.1.1-CwfebiSQMzDHPBeM5MfXwX4GNrMcjJ6jODI6H7Sif.8