Sterling on potential costs of health insurance exchanges in Vermont
Thousands of middle income Vermonters could see their health care costs spike when a new federal exchange goes into place in 2014. A group of advocates is urging the Legislature to create a special state subsidy program to make up the difference.
At the beginning of 2014, Vermont's subsidized health care program known as Catamount Health will be shut down and the roughly 10,000 Vermonters who are enrolled in the program will purchase their coverage through a newly created market place exchange. Peter Sterling is the director of the Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security. He's concerned because the federal subsidies that will be available through the exchange are not as good as the existing Catamount coverage.
For instance, a person enrolled in Catamount, who makes $22,000 a year, faces a potential out of pocket limit of just over $1,700 but their financial exposure in the Exchange will be twice as big.