 The reason for today's public hearing is to take public testimony on the QHP rate by links by Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP. I have not checked today, but as of last night, I believe we've received 800 public comments. This hearing is one way to make a public comment. You can also email a public comment or you can leave a recorded voice message on our general line at the Green Mountain Care Board. So if you forget to say something that you really wanted to say today, you still have the opportunity. And Susan, when is public comment open till? It's open until July 20. Oh, no, wait. I'm losing it. Do you have the date, Christina? I was going to say July 23. Yeah, that's right. Yes, it is Thursday, July 23 at 1159. But as Kevin may say, we are always accepting public comment. And also all of that information is located on our website. And there is a public comment forum on our website. So this is the first time we've held a public hearing via Teams. So it'll be interesting. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. And hopefully everyone gets through, okay, we know that there are pockets of Vermont that do not have good internet coverage and pockets of Vermont that not have good cell coverage. So again, if somehow you get dropped, you lose your internet, you lose your cell coverage or whatever, you have the other two avenues to make the public comment. I wanted to start the meeting because what we learn every year is that there are some things that might be able to help someone. And the proper person to assist you in that is on the line with us tonight listening. And his name is Mike Fisher and his staff are known as the healthcare advocate. And they were put into statute basically to assist Vermonters to make sure that Vermonters aren't denied care, aren't denied access to care, are getting quality care, and they do an outstanding job. So Mike, maybe you might want to say a couple of words on how people might be able to contact you. Yeah, thank you, Kevin. And thank you everybody for showing up. And thank you, board members. And thank you everyone for showing up. And this is really important. So yeah, I just want to say again that the purpose of this hearing is for you to be heard. And the healthcare advocate's office has a few purposes primarily for this meeting is to support you in being heard. But we have a secondary purpose that I just want to mention out loud. And that's to support individuals who are experiencing challenges getting the care they need. If we were all in the meeting room in Montpelier, I'd be hearing people stand up and say something. And I'd think, man, we should help this person out. And I'd chase after you to try and at least let you know about us. Since we're not all in the meeting in one room and we're in this virtual room, I just want to take an opportunity to make sure you know about us and to know how to contact us. I'm going to say our phone number now. And I can say it again later. And that's 800-917-7787. So complicated. And the fact that, and there are times when we can help people out, there's times when we can't help people out. But the primary purpose of this meeting is to make sure that the board has a firsthand view of what's going on for Vermonters as they attempt to maneuver through this complicated world of healthcare. So thank you, everybody. Thank you, Mike. And thank you for the work that you do on behalf of Vermonters every day. Normally, we would have had a sign-in sheet outside the room as you came into the public hearing. But since we don't have that, and we're doing this all over the Internet, what's going to happen is I'm going to start at the top of the names that appear on the team's list to go down through those. And then for those who are calling in, I'll read out the last four digits of your phone number. No one has to speak. I realize that some people may be here just to listen. And all you have to do is simply say, I'm just here to listen or here to support someone else who's speaking if you choose not to speak. So we're going to start at the top and we're going to start with Alicia Rod Rieg. And I am actually just here to listen today. Okay. Well, thank you, Alicia. Thank you for coming. Amelia Schlosslin. Hello. I'm at the Office of the Health Graphic It. I'm just here to support the HCA and our request for a zero percent increase. Thank you, Amelia. Ben Pomquist. Kevin, could you please just ask people to spell their names for me? This is the court reporter. Oh, yes. I should let everyone know that you're being recorded both via Skype, but also a transcript is being taken by the court reporter. And I'm sorry about that. And if everybody could, I probably should have them not only say their name and spell it, but say the town that they're from as well. The next person on the list is just listed as Brita. Brita or Brita, V-R-I-T-A. Okay. I'm going to go to Kathy Fulton. Kathy. Kathy, are you on the line? Kathy, we're not here with you. If you have somehow muted yourself, if you could click on the microphone to unmute yourself. Well, we're not here. Did somebody just say something? We're not hearing from Kathy, so we're going to go to Claire Diamond. I live in Montpelier practice in Burlington. I'm a psychotherapist here in Vermont. It is here. Oh, sorry. My name is spelled C-L-A-I-R-E. Diamond, V-I-A-M-O-N-D. It is clear that prioritizing profits over people is morally wrong, and the high cost of health care already limits access to medical and mental health care for remonters. Every day I directly witness the ways our protective systems create and exacerbate personal trauma. I have a sliding scale and most often don't charge for misdeployment fees because I want to make psychotherapy as accessible as possible for my clients. While insurance companies, nickel and consumers, practitioners who care so deeply about their clients are bending over by words to provide care. It creates stress and burnout. I'm sorry. Kim, you're on mute. No, that's okay. Sorry. Kim, you did unmute yourself, so maybe you're just pressing it. There you go. Oh, now you're on mute. Kim, yes. Oh, now you're unmuted. Okay. So you were breaking up. I'm sorry. It wasn't the speed. It was breaking up, but I didn't know if anybody else is having the problem or if it's just me. So, Kevin, this might be a good opportunity to remind folks they need to mute themselves. I think what's tough is I can only mute folks on Teams if they're joined via web. It's hard to mute people by phone. I can click mute all, but then that would interrupt Claire or another speaker, so I don't want to do that and cut people off. So if everyone who is on Teams could click on the microphone button, there should be a line that goes through it. That would mean that you're on mute, and then when you speak, you're going to have to remember to click it again and get that line removed so that we can actually hear you. If you're on the phone, Christina, is it going to be star six? Star six to unmute yourself if you're having trouble connecting. But I think if you're on a, if you have a smartphone, you can just mute with the mute button. But again, to unmute on the phone, you do need to press star six. Okay. So, Claire, maybe if you could start again, and we understand that the internet isn't the greatest everywhere. So we'll just cut in and ask you to stop for a second if we start to lose you again. So now we're having a problem with volume, Claire. Here, I'm going to press mute. I'm going to press mute all and Claire, you'll just need to mute yourself. In Vermont, it is clear that prioritizing profits over people is morally wrong, and that the high cost of healthcare already limits access to medical and mental health care for Vermonters. Every day, I directly miss the ways our oppressive systems create and exacerbate personal trauma. I have a sliding scale and most often don't charge for missed appointment fees because I want to make psychotherapy as accessible as possible for my clients. While insurance companies, nickel and dime consumers, practitioners who care so deeply about their clients are bending over backwards to provide care. This creates stress and burnout. And in fact, we know that chronic stress and trauma in turn create medical conditions, which I also personally have and have to pay for. We are in a collective mental health crisis and we need universal health care now. Continuing to raise the rates puts too much financial strain on practitioners and clients and makes care far less accessible. Thank you. Thank you, Claire. Okay. And I know at some point tonight, I'm going to butcher quite a few names. So if I say it wrong, just correct it when you introduce yourself and do the spelling. So next on the list is Cyril Zibrik. Wow, you nailed it perfectly. My name is Cyril, C-Y-R-I-L, or Sy. Zibrik. Last name is Z-I-B-R-I-K. And I'm just here to observe. Thank you. Thank you, Cyril. Next on the list is Dale. Can you hear me? We can. I'm not going to comment again on yesterday. I commented on Blue Cross Blue Shield already. MVP, I think I'm just going to reiterate some of what I heard today, which is especially how they are assuming what the trends will be. I understand that they don't have a lot to go on in terms of the you're in unproven territory as far as what's going to happen with COVID. But I was already wondering if things like, is the federal government going to help cover the cost of a vaccine when it is available? To already be talking about charging for a vaccine that isn't even on the market yet seemed like it was a little pasty, to say the least. The idea of charging for a trend rate that assumes that the backlog is going to suddenly come charging in and there's all these surgeries to be done. It really did feel like they were trying to boost their case for asking for a rate increase that I would say the consumer has far less reserves to absorb than they do to absorb. I think Mike made that point very well in his comments or somebody did. If you're looking for who can afford what, it's not the consumer. We're really hurting right now. I would just ask that you keep that in mind in terms of whatever the rate would be. I'm very concerned that a rate increase is going to mean that people, even if they can afford the premium based on whatever plan they pick, they can't afford everything else. So 0.0 rate, that actually sounds good for at least one year in terms of supporting the consumer. But that might be too idealistic. That's all. Thank you, Dale. I just also want to thank you for really following health care for a number of years and really listening. It's always great to hear your perspective. So thank you. Next on the list is David Barlow. Yes, hi. This is David Barlow. I am from a private practice physical therapy clinic in Vermont. My comment really has to do with reimbursement rates for private providers. If you go back and look at Blue Cross Blue Shield, we haven't seen an increase in rates in over 15 years. And even though we're paying premium rates in double triple digits over those 15 years, we've not seen any increases to what we can get reimbursed for for the work that we do in our clinicians. What's sad about that is that their rates are even higher than MVP still. So the reality is that we're getting squeezed. There's no business in this country that can stay in business without seeing any kind of price increase in 15 years. We've done all we can with the efficiencies and driving efficiencies in the business. There's no more to squeeze out of those stones. And so if we're not if we're not going to see increases in our CPT reimbursement rates for physical therapy, private clinics just can't stay in business. The last comment that I would make on that is the other sad thing is is that the hospitals for the exact same work that our clinicians do get paid often three to four times what we get paid for. So the hospitals are collecting three to four times from Blue Cross Blue Shield MVP than what we are seeing for our staff. So just really speaking on behalf of our staff, we can't give raises, obviously we can't frankly stay in business. We can't pay utility bills and all the other bills that continue to go up including our health care bills if we don't see some kind of increase in the reimbursement rates. That's it. And my last name is Barlow BAR-LOW. Thank you, David. Next on the list is Deanna Huggins. Hi, I'm Deanna Huggins. That's D-E-A-N-N-A. Huggins H-U-G-G-I-N-S. I'm in St. Albans, Vermont. I'm here to support the Vermont Workers' Center in zero percent rate increase. Thank you. Thank you, Deanna. Next on the list is Devin Bates. Devin Bates, if you're speaking, if you could hit the microphone button to unmute yourself. Well, we knew it wouldn't go perfectly, but we will get through this. And Devin, if you do figure out how to get through, if you could just speak up and we'll put you next in the queue. After that is Don George. Don, are you here to listen? So the next person on the list I know is with the Health Care Advocates Office, but I'm going to call his name off just to make sure that I actually hear from somebody and this is working. So Eric Schulteis. Hi, I am indeed here, Kevin. Thank you, Eric. Okay, H-B Lozito. Hey, thank you. My name is H-B Lozito. Letters H and B. It's my first name. Lozito is L-O-Z, I-T-O, and I live down in Brattleboro. I'm speaking as myself today, not on behalf of any organization. I work for a small Brattleboro based nonprofit who for many years has worked really hard to figure out how to offer health insurance to our employees. And you know, going around and around and around, we found it's simply not possible and certainly not accessible. Before I started receiving insurance through my spouse's employer last year, I was stuck in this challenging cycle. I think a lot of us experience of my organization wanting to increase my pay to a living wage, but then that entire raise amount being eaten up in insurance premium increases. For years, including now, my deductible was so high that I would never meet it in a single year ever, even when I was purchasing the gold versions of a Blue Cross or Blue Shield plan. Those that are supposed to have a lower deductible and a higher premium, meaning that I was paying out of pocket for almost all of my care while I was also paying premiums that were nearly $400 a month. That's not healthcare. It's not even health insurance. It's not accessible in any way. The rates were deeply unaffordable when our organization was last looking at offering insurance plans to employees that was about three years ago, and rates have only continued to go up. Both of my staff members currently purchased their insurance on the exchange, and it is a significant challenge and a barrier for them to afford, even at their now living wage salaries. I think it's especially cruel to even consider raising rates during a global pandemic at a time when many of us are losing access to care for employers and at a time when everyone needs access to acute as well as ongoing types of primary care. If the mission and role of the Green Mountain Care Board is to, quote, improve the health of Vermonters through a high quality accessible and sustainable healthcare system, I really believe you're failing the people of Vermont in significant and unacceptable ways. You actually have a chance to get it right this time. I urge you not to improve these increases, and thanks for the chance for public comment. Thank you, HB. Next on the list is James Farr. James Farr. Hello, can you hear me? We can, yes. Go ahead. Okay. Well, thank you for the opportunity to speak. I really called in just to listen, but I do want to echo some of the comments that were made that these health rates are no longer sustainable. Small businesses are really bleeding out here. And in our business, insurance is the biggest expense we have behind payroll. So I also support the 0% increase. Thank you. Thank you, James. Next is Jessica Morrison. Hi, can you hear me? We can. Great. Hi, I'm Jessica Morrison. It's J-E-S-S-I-C-A-M-O-R-R-I-S-O-N. I'm a nurse practitioner and a member of Vermont Worker Center. Based on my experience and practice as the insurance rates become more and more unaffordable, more and more of us turn to the high deductible plans and either hope that we just hope that we won't need healthcare. So we don't either don't get healthcare we need or if we do, we often don't have money to pay the medical bills when they come. So the question on my mind is, do you really want to be discouraging people to get healthcare during the pandemic? It's pretty outrageous to me that we're even considering a rate increase during a pandemic. And I'm really tired of public officials pretending that health coverage means that you can get healthcare. And the Green Mountain Care Board has been protecting the health of companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP over actually taking measures that are going to help us stay healthy. Once at the practice that I used to co-run, we were checking in with Blue Cross about incorporating health coaching into our practice because we have learned that Medicare may cover it. So it's just inquiry. And their representative actually said to her assistant, and I kid you not, we don't pay people to teach people how to be healthy. And so why do we trust companies who don't actually care about us being healthy, trusting the lives of people in Vermont with insurance companies? And I think it's time to stop this unhealthy control that the insurance industry has over our healthcare and our lives and that the only way to guarantee our right to healthcare is to put the insurance companies out of business and expand Medicaid to all Vermont residents. Thank you. Thank you, Jessica. Next on the list, I believe is someone with the Health Care Advocates office, but because it's just Jay Shah, I shouldn't assume it's Julia. Jay Shah, is that you, Julia? Or is it someone who wishes- Hi, Kevin. Yes, it's Julia Shah with HSA. I'm not planning to speak. Thank you. Okay. And also next is Kay Lee, also from the Health Care Advocate and I assume you're just here to listen to as well, Kay Lee. Well, I'm not hearing anything, so I'm going to assume- Yes. Can you hear me? Yes. I actually don't have the option right now to unmute myself, so just to let you know, but I switched to the computer. Okay. My phone won't unmute, but I wasn't planning to speak. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry, interrupt. You do have to press star six, just a reminder. It's different than just unmuting yourself. So, Christina, this is season, so it's star six on your phone, but if you're on your computer, then you just unmute the microphone. Is that correct? Okay. Thank you. Okay. Next on the list is Kate Bailey. Hi there. I'm also with the Office of the Health Care Advocate and just here in support of the zero percent increase. Thanks. Thank you so much. Next on the list is- I believe she's here in her official capacity as a reporter and that's Katie Jickling. Katie, have I got her working? Yes, that's right. Thank you, Katie. So next on the list is Keegan Harris. My name's Keegan Harris. That's K-E-E-G-A-N, Harris-H-A-R-R-I-S. I live in North Thetford and I work as an educator in the Springfield School District. As families like the ones that I serve are considering the implications of returning to school in this time of pandemic, insurance costs should not add to their concerns, nor should public school budgets be tied to the rates charged by private insurance companies. When this board approves rate increases, it is endorsing cuts to the necessary services our public schools provide students and that all children deserve. These rate hikes are availed assault on public education. And of course, these increases are a naked assault on public health. They are an endorsement of the continued exclusion of marginalized, poor and working people from our health care system as some other folks have movingly testified to. Our families, neighbors and friends will keep going without the care they need to live dignified lives and sometimes to live at all. It has always been unconscionable to approve these rate hikes and during the pandemic it is quite literally murderous. The solution is even clearer now than it was in 2011 when the State House passed Act 48. In the strongest terms, I call on each member of the Green Mountain Care Board to reject these proposed increases and I call on the governor who appoints you to reject the for-profit model of human health and deliver the public good health care system that Vermonters are owed by law. To do anything less, further betrays the public trust and further disgraces your private conscience. That is all. Thank you. Thank you, Keegan. And next on the list is Maddie Walker. Hi, can you hear me? We can. Awesome. My name is Madeline Walker, M-A-D-E-L-I-N, Walker W-A-L-K-E-R. I'm a member of the Vermont Worker Center in Burlington. At the age of 18, I began displaying the symptoms of a chronic illness, pain, nausea, unbearable exhaustion and my doctors ordered a lot of tests, tests, hands, procedures, each one with a copay that needed to be paid. I've left a multitude of appointments with no answers and barely enough change for parking. At the age of 19, I stopped approving my doctor's request for further probes and scans because the copays add up when you're going that often. I needed care and a high deductible and staggering copays prevented it. I couldn't afford it even with insurance. So this is a shortened version of my story, but it should sound familiar because I told it to you last year. This has become a kind of annual date standing up in front of you to fight for my right to survive without crippling debt or constant pain. You've acknowledged these rates are unaffordable, but you've been unwilling to stand up to the insurance companies and deny completely unreasonable rate requests. You can't affect a company's bottom line, but you can sit there while your neighbors and your community members come here every year and quite literally plead for their lives. I'm 21 now. I'm supposed to be studying, talking to my friends and learning what it means to be an adult. And instead I'm sitting here telling you that I deserve access to healthcare, the healthcare that makes all that possible. I deserve to live without crippling debt. And I'm angry. So I'm going to close with a question. Can you look every single one of us in the eye and tell us that an insurance company's survival is more important than ours? Because that's what you're doing if you approve anything other than a 0% rate hike. Thank you for your time. Let's go, Maddie. This is a time for us to listen to you, but you've raised a question and I'm going to give you an answer. And the answer is quite simply that this board has to balance and what you've seen in the early days of the Affordable Care Act, where insurance companies did not charge the right amounts and their medical loss ratio exceeded the premiums that they took in. They stopped selling product on the exchange. And the exchange is the one place where we really need to have product being sold because it's the place where you can get a federal subsidy to help you pay for your insurance. So I think every one of the board members would love to just say to the insurers, you're going to lose money by offering this insurance, but we're not allowed to do that by statute. We would be violating the law that put us in place. And also we would be hurting Vermonters who would no longer have access to federal subsidies for their health care. So I just want to get that out there. And I know that doesn't help, but doesn't help. But next on the list is Maggie. And there's only one name. So Maggie. Hello. Can you hear me? We can. My name is Maggie M A G G I E Belenz B E L E N S Z. So I just want to start by responding to that statement that you just had there just because I think if we're talking about affordability, we should be talking about universal health care and we should be talking about taxing the people that need to be taxed in order to make health care affordable. And I think that that's really the solution that we all need here in Vermont. I'm a member of the Vermont Workers Center and a registered nurse for the first three months of the pandemic. I was working on the COVID unit at UVM. It was not easy going to the hospital, not knowing what to expect, consoling family members concerned about their loved ones over the phone who can't be there with them, being that bedside family member in lieu of family and trying to deliver patient care amongst ever changing conditions. And it's taken the role of the nurse to another level. So during that time, you expect to be hearing people's concerns about this mystical virus and all the unknown surrounding that. But one of my most memorable moments I've had was a man in his fifties whose health was continuing to decline throughout my shift. His oxygen needs increasing every few hours as he lay there, faced with anxieties of this deadly illness. And as he was literally struggling to breathe, he started voicing his concerns for the future. And I had been really caught off guard by what he said next, which was that, but he explained to me that he had been laid off earlier this year due to the pandemic. And with that, he had lost his health insurance. He didn't have any idea of how if he made it through this illness, he was going to pay for his time in the hospital, as he was already the primary breadwinner in his household, three kids at home. And as he's legitimately telling me this between gasps, I was shocked. And luckily behind my PPE, he wasn't able to see my reaction, because that's not what I was expecting him to say. But looking back, I've heard that so many times that I shouldn't have been so surprised. And yeah, here's this man, he's fighting for his life against this coronavirus, thinking about how he's going to pay for it. And what it comes down to is that health insurance should not be health, health is a human right. And it should, the future of your health should not be based on your employment status. It's completely irrelevant, like that, that connection should not be one. There's all the other countries who have our similar economic status. And in this, in the world are, are having universal healthcare. And it's, especially now, we're dealing with people's lives. And it's completely inhumane for insurance companies to use and consider raising the cost of health insurance right now. The private for profit industry is not working. And this pandemic has continued to magnify that healthcare, all of us in the healthcare industry are struggling right now. And I think that as a Vermont Worker Center member, we're all calling on Governor Scott and the Vermont Legislator to implement universal Medicaid for all. And if this means putting the insurance companies Blue Cross Blue Shield MVP out of business, so be it because it's morally wrong to profit off people's health and well-being in the first place. And I think that like, I think it was Mike Fisher said at the beginning of this healthcare shouldn't be so complicated. And we have an uncomplicated solution for you. So please implement at 48 and we can move on with our lives. Thank you, Maggie. And thank you for your frontline service. I hope that there was a happy ending in the gentleman was able to return to his family. Next is Murray Townsend. Yes. Hello, this is Murray Townsend. And first of all, I would like to say thank you for your time and giving me time to speak. Can you hear me okay? We can, Murray. Thank you. Okay. I live in Middlebury. I am a member of the Vermont Worker Center. I used to be a nurse before I became disabled. I was a nurse for over 20 years. I am also now a member of the Vermont Council on Homelessness. Right now, in this state of Vermont, we have 250 families that are homeless. With no insurance. Throughout this pandemic, some of these families that are now homeless, a family member has lost their job. And because of losing their job, they have lost their health care. So now the family does not have health care. This is not right. When a family does not have health care, they don't go to the doctor. And trying to purchase health care privately, it's not an option these days. It just is not an option. If a family cannot afford housing, how are they going to afford health care? Right. And this is where universal health care comes in. We need universal health care in the state of Vermont where everybody in the state of Vermont has health care and that they're covered. This is so horrible. These families don't have a home. Most of them don't have health care at all. This is not the way it's supposed to be. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you, Maria. I have his visitor with me. Is it okay if he says something or no? Sure. Go right ahead. Introduce yourself, please. I will. Thank you for your time. My name is Alan Townsend Sr. And I'm sitting here listening to these people. And I've heard from people before that have gone to your board and pleaded with you people pleaded hundreds of them. Why can't you people see that? Why can't you see that these people need your help? But yet the insurance companies, they get what they want. Something's wrong there. That's wrong. Especially in angers me that the board is sitting back. I'm not saying you're sitting back. No offense to you, please. No disrespect. You got a tough job to do. I agree. I understand. But what I don't understand is these clowns are making money hand over fist. Now here's another thing. Hospitals that often to Blue Cross and Blue Shield and VP, they get paid really well. But the private clinicians, they can't. They can't. They try. They try very hard. That's something. But if they off into Blue Cross Blue Shield, then they'll get that money. Listen, can we take the money factor out of this? There was human lives right, especially during the pandemic. How are they going to? And like my friend just said, there are families on the street. If they can't afford a home, how in blue blazes are they going to afford health care? How? How do they do that? Well, you know, the subsidies and we can go to the government and all this stuff. What if they can't? You're the Green Mountain Board. I'm talking about Vermont, not federal subsidies. Vermont Green Mountain Board can do something about these clowns and stop them. They're already felt the wretch off the backs of innocent people who work hard. It is wrong, sir. It is absolutely monumental wrong. Now you can say, oh, he's metal dramatic. Fine. You can do that, sir. And I'm not trying to insult you, but I'm being firm. This is wrong. You need to stop these increases. And if they Blue Cross and MVP and all them don't like it, then they can go right out of the state on a rail. The state of Maine about 10 years ago did the same thing. They had had it with all these increases and increases and pad not their reports so they can get the money they want. Finally, the state of Maine said enough is enough. People screamed about it. Finally, they did something about it and they kicked them right out of the state. And then they wanted back in. They say, okay, you want back in, but you're lowering those rates. And that is the way it's going to be. I'm sorry. Please excuse, please, I'm my anger. But this is wrong, sir. This is very, very wrong. And you're on that board and you can make a difference. Thank you. I'm sorry. My my approach is I'm from Maine. No, no, it's necessary, Mr. Towns. And your passion is showing through. And we appreciate your passion. So thank you. Sir, it's wrong. It's wrong. Yep. Michelle O. D. Michelle O. D. That's the way it comes up. I'm not sure if it's short for O'Donnell or what, but it comes up as Michelle O. D. Last call for Michelle. Okay, the next name up is first name only Pam. Pam. Hi there. Can you hear me okay? We can. Hi, thank you. My name is Pam Palino. And my name is spelled P A M as in Mary. P is in Paul E L I N O. And I reside in South Burlington. And I work for a company in Colchester, Vermont. If I could have liked to read a short letter to you and then just make a few statements. I'll keep it focused and brief. I know you've all had a long day. I have sat in on your last two days of meetings. So I really appreciate the work that you're doing. I I applaud you for the work that you're doing. It's very appreciated. So I work for a privately held privately owned 50 year old company headquartered in Vermont called Polhemus. We have a robust global customer list. We are an X quarter. We serve the medical market, civil defense and many high profile commercial accounts. We're very proud to have a stable business in Vermont for this many years. It's unusual. And our company is extremely sustainable. We have under 30 employees at our headquarters. We are in roughly over 20 countries with global distribution. But our headquarters is small and it's all staffed by local people. We are extremely concerned about the rising health insurance rates. Although the company is sustainable, as I mentioned, the health insurance costs are not for us. The numbers, they far exceed the rate of inflation. We find that the currently proposed rates, we've looked at it from every which way we really find it to be completely unacceptable. I've heard the arguments regarding surplus. Like I said, I've sat through the last two days to educate myself further. My role is vice president of marketing, but I also serve as the company safety and health officer. So I have a vested interest in this as just as well as a personal interest from a local perspective. Polhemus has formed the health care action committee, the HCAC. It's an internal committee. And this committee has conducted research and reviewed a lot of data. And over the past four years, we have experienced health insurance premium increases at the rates on a table that I have submitted to you in a hard copy document on the public forum. So you may have seen that. But for those of you don't have the benefit of seeing it. So in 2017, the health insurance rate was a 9% proposed. The COLA or cost of living adjustment was 2%. And the rate of inflation was 2.1%. In 2018, the health insurance rate was 10%. The COLA or cost of living adjustment was 2.8%. And the rate of inflation was 1.9%. I won't go on and read 2019, but you see the trend that we're seeing. I know that you're fully aware of it. But these are the things that we've been discussing. We've been pulling data, articles, what other states are doing. We are really trying to hit this from every angle. My colleague, Jim Farr spoke earlier, that our insurance now exceeds our payroll. And basically the above rates from this table that we've outlined are simply not in line with any reasonable logical metric that we can see. In addition to the unrealistic rate increases, the increased costs have been compounded by the additional increase annual deductibles of approximately $500 per year. The health insurance costs exceed many Vermonters mortgage if they're lucky enough to own their house, their mortgage expenses, and the Vermont health insurance costs are among the highest in the country. We just feel strongly that we cannot stand for this any longer. We are a very reasonable community-oriented company. And we have really beat our heads against a wall to try to solve this problem. Pohemus reviews these cost projections over a five and 10 year period and beyond. It's very clear to us that this path is not a sustainable one. Soon we feel that we will not at all be able to offer a health insurance for our employees. We have a long-time employees. We have employees that have a long tenure at our company, 20 years, 25 years. This is very unsettling to us from a management team perspective that a small business with under 50 employees, we really feel it's not consistent with Vermont's history and their commitment for supporting small and medium-sized locally owned business. And according to the Vermont statute, the intent of the General Assembly was to create an independent board to promote the general good of the state. And that was outlined in several ways. The Green Mountain Care Board role includes reducing the per capita rate of growth and expenditures for health services in Vermont across all payers while ensuring that that access to care and quality are not compromised. It's clear that you all put a lot of work into this. I've sat and listened to your thoughtful questions to MVP representatives, to their actuaries, to their CFO, to the Blue Cross representatives over the last two days. And it's clear that you all have been doing an enormous amount of work on this issue. And I know that you care. I felt that in the presentations and in your questioning. It's our goal as a company to continue to offer quality healthcare that's affordable for our employees while still allowing our company to remain successful and to stay in Vermont. I've been talking to a lot of their business leaders. I'm very concerned about a couple of things. I'm concerned about companies leaving the state. I hear about, oh, well, you know, young people are leaving. My daughter's moving to Boston this Saturday because the opportunities are not here. She cannot find an opportunity. She's a college graduate. She's fortunate enough to have that, but she's getting out of the state. So I'm concerned about companies leaving that offer local jobs. I'm concerned about employees leaving companies that they want to stay with, but they can't afford to because they have medical issues or they can't afford the deductible. One thing I did want to pick apart, the Blue Cross had said that their actuary had said that their costs were in line with MVP. They were asked about why they had so many members leaving. And their comment was they did not think that that was caused by cost because they had stated that MVP's rates had went up in line with theirs. That actually isn't true because they're not counting the compounded deductibles that they were raising. So that was actually not an apples to apples comparison. I say that with great confidence because we were with Blue Cross for many years and we said no more and we left last year and we went to MVP. We have looked at self-insured. We have looked at getting creative. We have looked at pooling health insurance. We have really looked at everything. I feel really that we've done we've done our due diligence as a company. We're at our wit's end. I just like to close with a few remarks that I really we talked about this as a healthcare committee. Vermont is such a leader in so many regards in the state. I saw on the news today they said that Vermont was leading the way with the coronavirus. Our numbers were were staying low and people that I know out of state were saying how are you guys doing it? What are you doing that's different? Perhaps they should ask our governor and our leaders because kudos to Vermont. We are doing something right. We're leaders in so many ways. I think we're all proud to be you know the Vermonters that we do things a little bit different since sometimes the rest of the country. We led the way with Dr. Dinosaur. I think that that was actually modeled for a federal program if I'm not mistaken. So and I know many people that took part in that that were hugely benefited from it. So we were a leader in that regard. We're a leader in so many other ways but we're also a leader in the highest health insurance costs in the country. I think we're in the top three. So we're really as a company we're we're really making some decisions right now and we are very hopeful that we are going to have a zero percent increase on that rate. We are not buying what Blue Cross and MVP is selling with their arguments. We do not buy it. We have looked into it and we do not buy it for one second. They have some legitimate concerns. There are some uncertainties with COVID. I will agree with that but I did get a a decrease on my car insurance recently because there's not as many people driving. I know a lot of nurses that are working at UVM right now that they're getting called every third night and saying do you want to have this night off work because we're slow. So those are real examples that I know you've heard and you know we're taking we take everything into consideration and we're just very hopeful that we can as Vermonters lead the way to just say no more and control these health care rates. Thank you for listening. Thank you so much Pam and it's really good to acknowledge our state's success so far with COVID but knock on wood because just a very few foolish acts could turn those numbers around drastically. So hopefully we will keep staying safe. We will keep socially distancing. We will wear our masks and we'll be respectful to others. So thank you Pam and thank you for following the hearings. Next on the list is Tim Yearman. Tim Yearman. Oh I see he's leaving. So now I'm going to start getting into just phone numbers so you are going to have to unmute yourself and I'll call off the last four digits of your phone number and if you could just say your name and the town that you're from and begin speaking. So first on the list is 9362. Oh I see they're leaving. Okay next on the list is 8147. 8147. Yes. Yes can you hear me? We can. Good my name's Carla Borland spelled with a K. K. A. R. L. A. B. like Baker O. U. R. L. A. N. D. I live in East Setford. I'm 67 and retired and thank goodness for social security. I've decided to speak out tonight which I've never done even though I doubt that anything I or any of us say here tonight will have any effect on the outcome. I mean after all your approval of rate increases has given us a 50% increase over the last six years and I know the Green Mountain Care Board claims that its mission is to improve the health of their monitors through a high quality accessible and sustainable health care system and I believe that your heart's in the right place but I don't see how that squares with a 50% increase over six years and those result in a health care system that's on its face inaccessible and unsustainable. Now what's the point of talking about high quality health care if that carries out a reach of our most vulnerable community members? I mean each year this board listens to public testimony and it overwhelmingly opposes rate hikes calls for the implementation of Act 48 and then every year it seems to be even more clear that this hearing is really nothing more than a token gesture kind of designed to meet some sort of requirement like to give the public an opportunity to speak out with no real serious intention to be swayed by anything that the public contributes. I mean every year this board expresses compassion for the plight of the public and it claims that it claims to serve and yet it continues to approve rate hikes that the people of this state by the board chair's own admission can't afford. I mean whatever the state of Vermont spends to support the Green Mountain Care Board it's too much to spend on a rubber stamp. We can just put down the staples and get a giant okay with a red ink ink pad. Please please prove me wrong and make your actions match your words and reject these rate increases and please take immediate action to implement Act 48. Thank you. Thank you zero five zero nine zero five zero nine zero five zero nine so I'm going to go to the next number four four three six. Can you hear me? We can. Right um hi my name is Ellen Schwartz I'm calling in from Brattleboro and I actually submitted a testimony um through your website and what I'd like to do is um read a testimony from another person her name is Wendy Levy she can't be here because she's working right now um thank you she spells her first name W E N D Y and her last name is L E V Y and this is her testimony my name is Wendy Levy and I live in Brattleboro I am currently on Medicaid but I was on an MVP plan in the past I am not exaggerating when I say that I'm frightened of earning more money my two part-time jobs recently granted me raises and I'm terrified that when I report my income change I will be a few dollars over the Medicaid limit and have to return to MVP but I need this extra income as meager as it is because without it I won't qualify for an affordable apartment however with this raise suddenly I could be faced with premiums deductibles and copays that I can't pay this will limit my access to health care I've been here before a few years ago when I was a full-time worker I chose MVP silver plan it was so expensive that my family had to help me pay my premium at that time whoever calculates the premiums is clearly quite ignorant of the actual cost of living here in Vermont I could have chosen the bronze plan but the deductibles were so high it seemed like having no insurance at all and sometimes the silver plan was like having no insurance at all too like when MVP refused to pay for a follow-up mammogram recommended by my radiologist what they want me to get breast cancer and since when is MVP my doctor last year the chair of the green mountain care board admitted that these rates are unaffordable but claimed that we can't put a company out of business well it's hardly my problem if MVP and BCBS can't come up with a sustainable business model who will care about whether I am put out of business so to speak because I can't afford to go to the doctor too big to fail is a poor excuse for propping up a failing business on the backs of regular working people MVP and Blue Cross Blue Shield don't offer any better service than they did in 2014 and we shouldn't keep giving them raises to reward their mendacious behavior let's scrap this crummy system zero percent increase and fund universal health care through act 48 thank you 0276 0276 are you speaking to me I'm 0275 well it says 0276 on my computer screen but go ahead okay can you hear me we can okay I tried to I was in the meeting on my computer but you didn't call on me and maybe it only showed a phone number and I wouldn't have any idea what what phone number my computer used to call you so you probably called me and I didn't realize it and then I just dialed in so now I'm kind of hearing you in stereo I'll try my best so this is Anne Zimmerman I'm from Guilford I did not get a chance to testify in person last year when this issue came before the board is it does every year because I couldn't get out of work that day but I have driven to Montpelier to testify multiple times in the past and each time I let you know that I was a low-income single head of household who was purchasing health care on the exchange with a subsidy but that I barely scraped by and that your continued approval of increases and the rates would price me out of a policy um and I'm basically here today to let you know that you succeeded in doing that you have priced me out I have a son who's 26 as of close to a year ago and can't qualify to be on a policy with me anymore even though he is still actually my dependent um my daughter is living more or less independently as a grad student at UVM I said go ahead and apply for Medicaid on your own be an independent um so good for her I'm glad she can apply on her own that is absolutely the best insurance um but as a single working adult working full-time I just cannot afford the premium that is now expected of me for a very mediocre bronze plan which is a plan that could still leave me with expenses that I couldn't afford even if I could pay the premium and I actually found out that I didn't have health care about a year ago when I used an urgent care place to make sure that I didn't have strep throat I didn't want to go spreading that around work um you know and it turns out I didn't but that visit still cost me something like $260 for the 20 minutes or so that I spent with a nurse who told me to go get some over-the-counter allergy medicine with Sudafed and take a bunch of ibuprofen I actually did think that I had insurance when I went there I paid them the $20 co-pay and I later found out that my insurance had been cancelled because I guess I paid them too late one too many times I had used up the grace period so it was cancelled um I did try re-enrolling during the open enrollment last December and that's when I found out that there was actually nothing affordable for me anymore because I was in a new category as far as the exchange went and just mind you my life overhead actually hadn't changed at all um I do recall you making a statement after the last batch of increases were approved as they are to some extent more or less every year um you said and I know I'm paraphrasing here um well I know this isn't affordable we know this isn't affordable but we can't be putting an insurance company out of business so here we are when the board that was created to make sure that Vermonters had universal care actually sees its role as making sure the insurance companies are doing okay even if it means that Vermonters are not okay and I'm here to tell you we are not okay we're in a pandemic you know this many people have said it I work in a retail environment in southern Vermont where we regularly have visitors from other nearby states Massachusetts Connecticut New Jersey New York many other places I'm in my mid 50s and I don't have health insurance I'm lucky I've been more or less in decent health but again we're in a pandemic I'm afraid I don't really know if I'm healthy because I can't actually go see a doctor there's basic numbers I should know that I don't know um I just had a cousin a few years older than me die of an undiagnosed heart condition which totally freaks me out I don't know that couldn't beat me um the pandemic only complicates the situation um but the situation exists anyway um if there was ever a time to get Vermonters universal coverage and to stop worrying about the profits of the health insurance companies it's now um I do want to thank you for you know the chance to give you this testimony I really hope this time you'll listen to the people instead of the number crunchers for the insurance industry um that's all I have I guess thank you thank you eight five zero one eight five zero one eight five zero one okay we'll move along then eight three two six eight three two six eight three two six last four digits can you hear me we can hi uh my name is Diane Villani it's D I A N N E Villani V as in Victor I L L A N I I'm in Burlington hello um I I am a nurse practitioner I used to have my own practice actually with um Jessica who spoke earlier and um I've been just appalled dealing with both sides of the insurance issue but I know that today we're talking about the consumer side so um so you know it was my experience as a as a provider that it happened very often that my patients thought they had coverage um knew that they were paying ridiculous rates for those coverage and then would find out that that they had these deductibles that meant that they essentially don't have coverage you know like to pay the amount that Blue Cross is currently asking for per month and then to have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket on top of that means that these people don't have health insurance they can't get health care so this idea that we have to keep the insurance companies in the state to protect people to make sure that they can get health care they're not getting health care it's not happening because they can't afford it even if they can afford the ridiculously high monthly payments they still can't afford to get health care so if the the Green Mountain Care Board is really invested if they if you really want to carry out your mission then we need universal coverage we need universal care we need Medicaid for all um that's the only it's the only reasonable thing so i mean it sounds like your actual mission the mission that you're carrying out is really not the one that's stated on your website um and it breaks my heart it absolutely breaks my heart to see how many patients are struggling because they are not getting health care even if they have insurance they are not getting care um please please why are we protecting insurance companies why why are we not following through with Medicaid for all that's all i have to say thank you very much for your time thank you um just to clarify for everyone on the call the Green Mountain Care Board does not have the statutory authority to put in place any type of program like Medicare for all or Medicaid for all that would have to be something done with the legislature and the governor yeah that's okay i understand that so then just don't approve the rate increase because that would move things along zero please thank you very much next on the list is 2349 2349 can i um get back on i'm 027 0276 and i was having trouble unmuting myself earlier sure go ahead we you we were lucky to have somebody that had 0275 that thought it was them so that's fine it works for me um my name is Laura Wolfe i live in Wilder and i'm a member of the Vermont Workers Center um i am going to repeat what everybody's saying is get the insurance companies out of the way and i loved what the last person said 0275 that um that by denying them the rate hike that would move things along i think that's a great idea i think we have act 49 we need to defend it um health care is not health insurance health insurance is a business that does not provide health care it funnels money for for a price and um we want health care we want universal health care so thank you for letting me get back on and thank you for listening i hope thank you thank you so much okay we're going to go back to 2349 2349 hello my name is ike mull queen duquette that's i k e m u l queen hyphen du q u e t t e and i was not going to speak but i kind of got set off by something that you said earlier about how if we don't essentially if we don't approve the rate increase that the health insurance companies may no longer provide care of certain types on the open market i don't remember the exact details but the idea that our health care could be held hostage by these institutions that have a financial incentive to not provide care is atrocious and it's not as though we can sit here and say act like we don't have another option we have a very clear other option and i understand it's not the board's job to pass legislation but i do believe it's part of your mission to make recommendations to the legislature um you can correct me if i'm wrong but at the minimum we need to not include increase the rates and beyond that we need to have a message loud and clear that vermont needs medicate for all and we have i was there last year and i was there the year before while rooms full of people spent two hours saying exactly this and uh i thank you for the work you're doing but i need you to say it's not a pretty good idea thank you thank you two five nine zero two five nine zero hello yes go ahead yes hello um my name's grippen shumway that's g r i f f i n f h u m w a y i want to start by mentioning how disappointed i am with the board's ability to allow people to participate with this hearing with the mission to do with this technology the idea that you would roll out something so intested that many people who have come here to testify have been so silenced by the board because the board didn't bother to check the system before using it you knew this was popular hearing you knew that there would be a lot of people here wanting to come on wanting to testify and it's making shameful that you can test the system ahead of time now i'm with the vermont just before you continue i want you to know that we've been using this system for all regular board meetings all rate review hearings and other meetings what i said at the beginning was that this is the first time that we've used it for a public hearing because obviously we would much rather do this in person so please don't take from my words that this is an untested system this is the best system that we have to use right now okay well i'm going to continue with my testimony because i know you can hear me but i know there's a lot of people who are able to speak now i'm with the vermont worker center and the health care is a human right campaign i live in white river junction um and this is at least my fourth year attending the sport hearing um uh in the four years that i've been here four years um the only time my pay has actually increased was when i got a new job a new position at a new workplace um besides that i haven't received a real raise in years um but my health care costs go up every year fundamentally this means i'm making less money this year than either the year before or the year before that um this year blue cross blue shields asking you all for a increase of over six percent this is on top of the rate increases they received the year before the year before that or any other year that i've been here just has to fight about these rate increases this is criminal and for all the people who die because they lose access to health care this is murderous my community cannot afford the rate increases and neither can our state in 2011 vermont passed a law of guaranteeing guaranteeing health care to every resident and making health care a public good this law created the board you're sitting on today with just the intent of implementing this public health care system instead the board has helped develop the aco system that funnels health care dollars off the private corporations and has over some rate increases that so far outstripped average people's raises that most people are making fundamentally less today than they were in 2011 last year this board chair kevin um said these rates are unaffordable but at the same time we can't put a company out of business i'm asking why when the role of the green mountain care board was precisely this to put an end to the system that puts profit over the lives of our community the lives of our friends and the lives of our family in fact this is what we're calling for this year kevin you said that uh you must ensure that there are many insurance products on the market but our experience what you've heard today what you heard last year before that before that is the system that system that you're defending is fundamentally killing us i can't count the number of people who are not here today because they've died from lack of access to health care and their lives are on this board's hands it is precisely the time to put an end to rate increases an end to co-pays deductibles being turned away is an end to the profit in the health care system this is precisely what we're calling on you to do it is outrageous that during a global pandemic and a global financial crisis the board would even consider granting rate increases the time has come for the governor for the legislature and for this board to abandon market based insurance and continue forward with universally publicly financed health care and we're calling that system Medicaid for all thank you thank you um i am going to now uh reach out to christina who has been texting me um to say that there are people that have come into the hearing um since we started um so christina if you're on the line if you could um let me know who those are yes i um sent you a list but it may have changed so i and i've been where did you send the list to on your email which i know you are looking in a million directions right now so i was hopefully i was trying to do this efficiently but um there are folks who have been chatting in the um teams chat and i i do want to mention a few things before um i know it says in the teams chat that people have been removed or added that's a teams thing no one is removing people from this meeting um i would not do that and i just want to make that clear because some people had confusion um and then like i said some people have been added in this list is an alphabetical order so if you um came on late and you're at the top uh and kevin made his way down the list um we will get to you kevin i'm happy to read those names if you'd like um i think you're going to have to christina because i do not have an email from you oh okay all right um well we heard from um ann zimmerman um and i think the next name is austin carmon or carmon austin carmon austin okay we could always come back if you want to mention something in the chat i can um look at that and then becky luandoski hi i'm just observing today thank you thank you bill colman yes can you hear me yes thank you i'm bill colman from the town of newark for mon um i would just like to comment for one thing on the way in which these raid hikes are really um supporting popular misconceptions on the part of um middle income um for moners that um they live in a welfare state that is um has a disproportionate share of tax money going to support really um low income people um who are getting free insurance while they themselves are getting forced to pay for extremely burdensome um high rates on their own taxes and um really there's a failure of the news media there's a failure of um information systems that are available to people and there's really a failure of the educational systems to point out how income inequality in this country and in this state is driving this entire situation where it is really there's so much money in the hands of so few people and so little left for either middle income or low income people that um it seems as though this um these rate hike increases are just doing just what um these elites that run this state and run this country um want them to do to just um divert attention and to polarize um the um vast majority of the population into um different camps where those that are receiving state-run insurance and those state-funded insurance rather and those who are receiving um private insurance as I as we've been saying um ex-carbonate rates so um any further rate hikes are just um absolutely outrageous um the rates are so high already we can't even be perpetuating the system that we have on hand and um as we've been hearing um from Griffin and from others the the best thing that could happen would be if these insurance companies just went under and um we could force the situation to um really take a look at human needs and um human rights of which healthcare is a primary human right there's intense suffering and um pain that's associated with people who have extraordinary um healthcare needs and really complex medical problems they've all come about as a result of a system that puts profits ahead of people whether it be um the ability for food processing um massive corporations to um add all sorts of additives to foods that end up driving people right into the healthcare system with really expensive needs um to be cared for for um for terminal illnesses and things that are really caused by food products that should never even have been sold our whole system is set up for profit completely and there's no reason why the healthcare system which is where these people end up should be just another um facet of this um profits before people system so I'd say absolutely zero percent there's no possible justification for any rate hike whatsoever the best thing again would be for the um insurance industry itself when it comes to healthcare just to collapse I believe people people need insurance on their homes and things but um when it comes to insurance for healthcare that is an unreasonable thing that should not that is completely unjustified it should be um ended just as rapidly as possible and um these um their ability to charge the rates that they've been charged is um something that should be really looked at um it's just being completely unethical unjustifiable and um all previous rate hikes that have taken place are just um tragic mistakes that as I said are driving the polarization to stake in place in this country and um we've got to just um put a stop to it right here and now thank you thank you Christine I did receive your email and uh if you could monitor anybody that comes in in addition to this list I'll go down through and call the remainder of the list so next on the list is just the initials C V E C V E sorry I just want to say one thing Kevin I was asked to remind folks that if they've joined by phone uh they need to unmute star six um and if they've joined via teams just press the microphone button if you are struggling you may need to hang up and call back in um if that has happened to a couple folks so I just wanted to say that because I was asked to remind people that's how you can unmute okay so one more time for C V E Hi I'm Cheryl Van Epps and that's spelled C H E R Y L V A N E P P S I'm calling as a brain injury patient um a survivor and um I I'm calling to testify I also submitted my comments um just I think it was last night to the board so you have that also um I want to add to the comments and thank you for everybody who's been telling their patient stories it's very difficult to do this um I've been trying to at the hospital level and um it's been very difficult for me it's it's traumatic you come home realizing that they are not listening and no change is being made so I just want to say that thank you for for your efforts there um I wanted to add that in my case I felt the effects of the corporate influences on the hospital care as far as patient efficiency of flow through um I was booted out of my post-op bed too soon and as a result I my implant was displaced and I had to have a second surgery to fix it so I saw the effects of trying to maintain a business model and run the efficient um process of care delivery and what that means on the human level so cost cutting my doctor's appointments I have to wait a long time to see and some of my specialists that left the region there's no replacement so I'm going without care so um those are some of the effects of quote-unquote cost savings programs um you may not see it as a fish effective way to use the money but for us sometimes those are absolutely necessary and I believe that's not being taken into account so basically I'm here to say the quality of patient care is really suffering that um patient safety is being effective and again quality of care so what we're paying for I came to the conclusion that I was doing more for myself as do-it-yourself care uh researching what I needed and how to go about getting it so I was taking care of myself to recover from my brain injury um and I felt that I didn't need the insurance so I've dropped it as of December and I'm going without so I'm one of the uninsured right now so um I just wanted to contribute that that you really need to look into what we were getting for that money that we're paying into the pre as premiums and I feel that um the quality isn't there so thank you thank you again oh and one other thing I researched the quality and what the definition of quality is um if you'll go to the institute of medicine 2001 report crossing the quality chasm they defined quality of care basically as timely coordinated individualized comprehensive meeting whole person needs so I would like you again to take that into consideration thank you thank you Cheryl uh next on the list is Cynthia teague or tag I'm not I probably butchered that but Cynthia hi everybody it's Cynthia Ty I live in Jeffersonville and I'm a member of the Vermont workers center and Vermont NEA and I simply want to state that raising insurance rates health insurance rate and a pandemic is just despicable uh health care is a human right to reiterate what mr colman and many others have said its profits being put ahead of people and it's immoral uh as you know the Vermont teachers were just forced into the first iteration of a vested high deductible uh convoluted third party payer involved plan uh we're just getting our hands around that and now the rates are going to raise you know that uh with the pandemic school funding is going to be an utter mess there's going to be layoffs uh and you know to speak to you know the needs of the students in my community you know I find it very laughable you know that you say that you have no hand in the ability to facilitate universal health care when the fact is if working people cannot afford their insurance um they're going to need some kind of health care coverage it breaks my heart to hear that in this day and age we still have people walking around without health insurance I don't know how involved in the system can sleep at night uh with that happening uh so that's all I wanted to say tonight thank you for hearing me thank you Cynthia next on the list is just the first name Dan Dan is Dan on the line not hearing Dan we're going to go to Victoria Jarvis Victoria Jarvis hi everyone my name is Victoria Jarvis J-A-R-V-I-S I'm with the department of Vermont Health Access my pronouns are she her and hers I wanted to say thank you for holding the meeting in Microsoft Teams I'm hearing impaired and this platform has closed captioning on it so you can do a you can have closed captioning really easily on this it's already attached to the program so really grateful for that and I'm also very grateful to just listen today and I respect the stories that the Vermonters are telling us thank you thank you Victoria um next on the list is um Michelle OD Michelle OD hi can you hear me we can okay um my name is Michelle O'Donnell um O-Postrophe D-O-N-N-E-L-L um I live in Burlington and I'm a member of the Worker Center um I wanted to um first say thank you to everyone who has shared their stories and experiences um and also echo the calls for universal healthcare um it's a model that works and centers people's needs over profit and over the continued existence of companies and I also wanted to say that by you know holding these hearings and still you know hearing all these moving testimony and still going ahead with the rate increases um what you're telling us is that you don't believe our stories and that you don't care about our stories and that you don't believe the economics that show the universal healthcare is the the cheapest option um and that your priority is with maintaining the status quo and these companies over um you know providing healthcare um and you know respecting people's human rights so I think that um it's outrageous to consider um increasing or approving these uh insurance rate increases in any year but this year in particular having seen how um you know so many people have lost their jobs and need to find health insurance outside of that um no one should have to fight for their healthcare or to afford their healthcare um and healthcare is a human right and you know universal healthcare is the answer but not approving these increases is um you know the bare minimum of first step um so you know I encourage you all to take that step thank you thank you Michelle uh next on the list is Kate Bailey Kate Bailey she already spoke she's with the HCA oh thank you uh Kate Canelstein K-A-N-E-L-S-T-E-I-N Kate I'm gonna go to Keith Bruner Keith Bruner um hey there yes I'm here um sounds like you have a little one in the background we do we're wrestling with him right now um yeah so my name is Keith Bruner it's B-B-R-U-N-N-E-R and I'm currently on Medicaid uh I've been working per DM for a few years and in the past have been on these blue cross plans that are uh under sort of direct discussion here um and uh yeah I support the zero percent rate increase the call for that um I think it's even worth considering returning to the original rates from 2013 before they raised up almost 50 percent in the past few years I know it's probably not possible but it's worth putting it on the table um I think that uh returning to as Pam was talking about the before the purpose of the board promoting the general good of the state and among other things improving the health of the population um is important uh in the statute uh and I know that for the duty uh the duties of the care board in terms of rate review um you all are considering both the underlying statutes about the general good of the state and the health of the population as well as the uh it says protecting solvency of insurance companies is right right in the law and so it seems like it you know it's a really at the discretion of the board to weigh these two considerations which are directly opposed and so it's kind of a political choice I think for the board of our is the board going to promote the general good of the state or the solvency of these private companies um at our expense and um you know I would just encourage uh the board to use the pandemic as a fresh start an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that it's a strong independent regulatory body that takes the side of the people um I think if that sends blue cross and MVP into fiscal insolvency um that is an important thing for legislators to deal with um I think that the private market based health insurance system it's pretty clear is uh both immoral and economically untenable we have the law on the books uh down in Montpelier to transcend that and move to a publicly financed system um and just the last thing I would say is um I think an elephant in the room is that wealthy people and big companies would be paying more under a publicly financed system than they do under a private market based health health care system and so um you know in a way I think the the board is faced with the the question of a political choice of promoting the general good of the state and improving the health of the population or supporting the interests of sort of a small section of the population uh and a particular industry and I know it's not just the board it's also the lawmakers but just to sum up I guess I would encourage the board to uh have a zero percent rate uh increase for next year and um and to really figure out how to put pressure on the legislature to uh to deal with this mess and not keep kicking the can down the road thank you thank you Keith next on the list is Karen Saunders hi my name is Karen Saunders I that's Saunders can you hear me we can and we can see you as well oh what do you know okay um I must be real okay I'm in Brattleboro and a member another member of Vermont workers center many years ago when I was in my late teens and early 20s I worked in a small factory in Massachusetts where my wages were barely above minimum wage and I couldn't afford health insurance then I got a letter in the mail inviting me to participate in Rand's health insurance study which may be one or two people on the call have heard of for the first time in several years I could afford to go to the doctor get desperately needed gentle care and even get new glasses sure enough the study concluded the free health care made it possible for people to get the care they needed unfortunately that didn't result in the universal publicly funded health care that would have allowed all of us to get the care they need we need today here in Vermont as we've heard today we have neighbors who still can't afford health insurance because of these the astronomically high premiums which as we know have risen far higher than wages have risen this is as others have said unconscionable at any time and particularly so during a pandemic I urge you not to allow any rate increase further I urge the green mountain care board to join us in calling upon governor scott and the legislator sure to do the right thing to do what should have been done several years ago fully fund act 48 and send the insurance companies packing thank you thank you Karen next on the list is just the first name joy joy do we have joy so that is the last name that I have but I want to open it up if I have not called your name and you wish to speak if you could just start and if multiple people multiple people speak at once I'll just ask one person to speak at that time so please speak up if you wish to give us your input tonight I I I'm 8501 I miss my turn well go ahead now thank you my name is Grace Benenson I live in Reddleboro and I'm a member of the Vermont Worker Center also and my story is old because in 2014 I had a serious stroke which resulted in my losing my home my job and all kinds of savings that I might have had up to that point and the upshot of that was because my employer put us on a bronze healthcare with MVP and my deductible was five thousand dollars so for several years I was unable to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which was the root cause of my stroke so same story that was 2014 now we're in 2020 and I can see things haven't changed they've only gotten worse because the cost of premiums are outrageously expensive for people and I too agree that we need act 48 to be put into put into action and no great hikes for insurance companies if they if they can't make it with the money that they've made so far they need to get a job thank you so much for listening bye bye thank you Grace I heard another voice um that wish to speak go ahead that was me I am uh Roger Arnold ROGR ARNOLD I live in the upper valley I also work as a public librarian where we work with healthcare navigators to get people health insurance um from the marketplace but most importantly I am a member of the Vermont Worker Center um I think as many people have talked about that when you as the Green Mountain Care Board approve these rate hikes you are forcing people to choose or compromise on their other material needs whether it is access to car insurance or access to food you are forcing people to make decisions um for that you're making people you're choosing the decision for them right so often they're not and we are seeing that with an increase of 50 over the last six years by our calculation it's very clear the health company healthcare companies are controlling access to healthcare um particularly during a pandemic I don't believe that is right I'm calling for a zero increase as so many others have done so finally I just wanted to point out I think it's very instructive that in response to someone's healthcare story all these patient stories that you are hearing you Mr. Kevin Muller chose to respond with medical loss ratios and talking about the product that is being sold on the market and similarly last year I thought it was instructive when you expressed an interest in not wanting to put healthcare companies out of business I think that is very instructive and so I have a question who cider you on as the has a healthcare regulator established through act 48 you work and a call for the people and it's very clear that your dual role of a healthcare payment reformer often gets in the way of your ability to advocate for the people and so I ask who cider you on thank you thank you Roger I'm sorry that you feel that way but again I'll reiterate that if there is not product available on the exchange then Vermonters would not get subsidized and would be bearing the full cost of whatever insurance they got and I can tell you that I work with four incredibly talented individuals as the other board members who could be doing other things with their time and they're here trying to do the best that they can each and every day putting in the work to try to work within what is legally possible for the Green Mountain Care Board is there anyone else who would like to speak yes this is a George Cloak in Middlebury go ahead George yes my name is called KL OHCK and I was glad to hear at the beginning of this two hours Mike Fisher speak my wife Margaret and I remember Mike Fisher from the time he was in the state legislature and trust him as a person who has the interests of everybody at heart I want to just say that after listening for all of the testimony it's been given so far I believe that we live in a state that where people are quite well informed and where people are struggling to find justice and the best thing for everyone and I was extremely disappointed I applauded Dr. Deb Richter when she came to Vermont to advocate for health care for all I was extremely disappointed when Act 48 fell somehow but I wish it could be revived because I think that the only way to end the suffering that is going on for lack of health care and the expense of health care that's beyond reach of so many people the only way to end that is to go to Medicare for all universal care for all and someone mentioned the idea that Vermont has taken leadership among many issues ahead of other states I wish that Vermont again could get in the lead in the head of other states and move on towards the situation which everybody had publicly funded health care and everybody could depend on support of everyone when they got sick or were in need and and so forth that that's my comment I I don't know the political ramifications what the what the Green Mountain Care Board can do I know that we need to speak to our legislature we need to speak to the governor we need to elect people who have these ideals in mind and will work for them but I just want to add my voice to the idea that I'm hoping and praying for the day when universal health care will be a reality where we live thank you thank you George would anyone else wish to speak at this time Christina come on if you have any other names I don't have any any further emails yeah I don't see anyone but there can be a lag between people joining in the list updating so oh I do see someone oh that's just a flamen oh go ahead yeah um I'm on the phone can you hear me we can go ahead and state your name for the record my name is Britta Fisher B R I T A F I F H E R and I'm calling from South Burlington um first I would politely ask you not to interrupt me um and to save comments until the end if there was ever a moment to take a look at our profit-based insurance system and recognize that it doesn't serve the needs of Vermont communities that moment is a global pandemic every year that this board chooses to uphold a system that makes a profit off of people who need care is another year that we carry on in this way currently insurance rates both premiums and copays are already too high to afford and discourage people from seeking care I'd love to hear you defend exactly in what ways our system is currently high quality accessible or sustainable year after year I wonder what you would need to hear in order to reject a model of health industry how many stories of trauma and struggle do you need to fill that quota over the last six years you have chosen to increase insurance costs by over 50 you position yourselves as a mediating body working to protect the people and indeed that is why this board was formed but in fact you are the ones upholding the current system I think that it isn't a question of can or can't it's a question of will and imagination let's be clear a zero percent increase in rates is not a radical ask it changes nothing about how the current system is run or who benefits from it a zero percent increase is the absolute bare minimum we are making this request as a way of stalling one of many crushing forces that are impacting people as we feel the full swing of the ripples of COVID-19 on our communities we are here telling you over and over in different words with different stories from around the state that we already cannot afford the care that we need at the current rate that we avoid going to the doctor despite chronic pain and other illnesses and we're asking you what we're asking is for you not to make it any worse for us right now I know that your statutory mandate does not include passing legislation but you could use your power and standing to advocate for a change just because something is legal does not make it moral this country and the state have a long history of immoral laws what would it take for you to join us in reimagining what healthcare as a true right looks like a system where people don't have to be wealthy to access care what do you personally have to lose I truly ask that you ask yourself that question and interrogate the response is that privilege literally worth the lives of the people in Vermont because again this is a moral question and our lives are at stake thank you thank you britta is there anyone else who wishes to speak at this time I would like to speak can you hear me yes go ahead um my name is Sharon rec usin sha r-o-n r-a-c-u-s-i-n I live in norwich I'm a member of the remote worker center and we are a big organization and we have been pushing back for years after all the testimony I have heard over the years after all you've heard if you cannot change this paradigm then I have to be strident I think you need to resign the board needs to step back and say we cannot do this you're living in a bubble in a privileged bubble and you have heard from people from across the spectrum from every uh income level from professional people from business a business that I heard from tonight that I thought would be doing really well like you know making bombs and the military complex and they're struggling with healthcare what don't you get about this it's really upsetting I want you to stop the charade every year listening to us and join us like karen saunders said and I also wrote down like join us and say to the governor and the legislature you know what people are most of the people in this state are struggling professional people people who are living in poverty everyone every single person cannot deal with the rate increases we've been helping our family with co-pays and deductibles for years for just family you know issues and you know you can't do this job if you put as much if you could put as much effort as you are into the aco into giving us into changing this paradigm you would be doing yourself a favor and you should feel good about that but you can't feel good about this so I'm I'm sorry I don't know how much more I can take of your goodwill you're very nice to listen to us but you're not making any changes I oppose not only this rate increase but every single rate increase from this moment forward thank you thank you is there anyone else who would wish to speak at this time I would yes go ahead my name is Alan I'm Alan Townsend senior my question to you is are you I take it you're the chairman of the Green Mountain Board that's correct now my question there's four members on this board am I correct that's correct there's five members total myself and four others yep wow that's all right now my question is why isn't the rest of the board here now I understand they're they introduce themselves they are here they all with themselves you have Robin Lunge you have Maureen Youssefer you have Jessica Holmes and you have Tom Pelham and they all introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting sir I must have missed that I apologize but um I just I gotta quickly tell you something I know your people are busy I know you can't leave magic wands and get things done that that's unrealistic but there's a hospital in Virginia and I can't remember the name of it it was years ago I was just getting out of the army and I was doing some diving with a friend and I came out too quick and something happened to my right ear drum I went to this hospital I had two doctors it wasn't a clinic it was a hospital and they took care of my ear and they even gave me the medication for the pain and everything and everything was totally free everything no bell now if they can do it why can't that be done here well I understand I understand the art of politics I came from a family that was very charged in it you know the art of Hoy Filoy or whatever you choose to call it it's a language all of its own now I'm going to speak a language that's going to be very clear I agree with the last lady you people need to resign and find new members on it that have heart that care about the people I come from Maine and we're pragmatic people we don't put up with Hoy Filoy these people need to help the people of this state I'm telling I'm sorry about my charge no offense to you not to condemn you but you people have the power don't tell me you don't because you do you say oh you know we're limited this limited that no you're not you can do put a stop to these clowns and put that and no more increases not during a pandemic that is very unrealistic and I don't care about the chairman of the board of MPV and all those clowns that just want to make money greedy off the backs of the people that are killing themselves to keep themselves healthy I say drop all that's all MPV and all that drop them all of them everybody across the board I'll tell you what that'll smite them up fast that hit them right in the wallet thank you and please forgive me for my charge thank you is there anyone else who would wish to speak at this time is there anyone else who would wish to speak at this time Kevin it's Walter go ahead Walter I'm sitting here at work so there might be some background noise um my work in the tourist business I think you know we've heard all the testimony I've been listening as I've been working on my phone and I look out at the people here and half of them aren't wearing masks and there's nothing I can do to enforce it and I wonder what happens if I ever have to go in and get a COVID another COVID test because of it and the only thing that doesn't panic me is because I'm on Medicaid and I don't have to deal with deductibles vast deductibles and code pays and I think it's really time that we the public we the board and really look that we have to start thinking of healthcare as a product that we buy and sell and the plans on the marketplace and all that are ludicrous I think the time has really come especially with this pandemic that you know healthcare has to be a public good I'm amazed that we talk about not letting glue cross and blue shield MVP fail when we let so many thousands of other businesses fail and this this is just crazy because they know that they can come to us every year and we'll give them more money they'll come to the board and we'll have more testimonies like these and pretty you know we'll have to balance these testimonies against the board against their rate increases they always start high we work down we play the game so I think it's time we've reached the end of the road we really have to start looking at it as a public good rather than a plan rather than you know something to sell like a washing machine or a car or an iPhone or paying four bucks to come into a state park like they do here as I watch them that being said I know that it takes more on political will and if there's one thing this pandemic has shown us is that we do have the money that we talk about not having the money and I know the legislature is one that does that that is purely Balderdash to protect very special interests and we've all known that for a very very long time I know it's not the board's purview on this but I hope that the board members and chair mullen can communicate this back into the pipeline up into the administration levels because this is where it's going if it's it won't be this year of course but we're going there because pretty soon we're not gonna have any more money to give to these insurance companies and as that that Richter had said a couple years ago the time has come to ask ourselves whether Blue Cross Blue Shield exists for us or do we exist for them because right now we exist for them and I know that this hearing you know they'll probably get us they'll get a raise and then we'll be back next year and the year after that and the year after that on these raises so I think we've reached that that bridge we've reached the end of that road and we have to take that decision so just maybe it's something to ponder I don't know but anyway I thought I'd share that and I'm sure you've had a lot of fun listening to us thank you welcome excuse me this is the court reporter what was Walter's last name what it's harpenter c-a-r-p-e-n-t-e-r thank you 64 and I live in Montpelier we don't require the aged disclosure Walter hey why not you know I've been a green mountain care board groupie for how long long time is there anyone else who wishes to speak at this time could I make one more comment I'd like to get whoever hasn't spoken first okay so um my name is Ellen Schwartz and I read somebody else's testimony before and if there's a chance I'd like to just speak on my own behalf for a few minutes okay go ahead thank you um my I spell my name ELL EN FCH WA RTZ and I live in Brattleboro and I am a member of the Vermont worker's center and I have been attending these forums since they began I've been at every single one of these forums one of the things that is really glaringly obvious in the pandemic that all of our health and all of our well-being is connected so though I myself am now old enough to be on Medicare and so fortunately I am not personally directly impacted by these rate hikes should they go through the fact that they leave other people in Vermont without access to affordable healthcare is a problem for all of us it's not just about me individually every year I come and I hear what I've heard this year I hear people pouring out their hearts sometimes in tears to this board you hear from people who can't afford insurance people who forego care because they can only afford a high deductible plan but they can't pay the deductible and people who are denied care because we have this Byzantine process whereby insurance companies rather than doctors and patients get to decide whether care is warranted to be paid for and every year in spite of all this the rates go up last year you Kevin Mullen you honestly admitted that the rates were unaffordable and you but you added the same thing you said this year which is that the board felt compelled to raise them in order to keep the insurance companies in business you are a public board you're supposed to be looking out for the interests of Vermont residents and you can't have it both ways you either do what's right for people who are struggling to pay these exorbitant rates or you side with the insurance companies it's a myth that we need the health insurance industry if you're operating from within the system you may see that as the only option but I think that we need to think inside a different box there are many countries that provide health care as a public good I lived in one of them in in the united kingdom I lived in the early 1970s when the national health service which still exists was more robust than it is now I got great health care everything was simple and straightforward and it opened my eyes to what a health care system could be and should be your board was created by act 48 which was also supposed to bring universal health care to Vermont I ask that you deny the rate increases and that you join us in pressuring the legislature legislature and the governor to do everything within their power and your power to get Vermont back on the course to the unified and integrated health care system that was called for by act 48 green mountain care was the name of it and that's now the name of Medicaid but it was supposed to be green mountain care for all or Medicaid for all as envisioned in act 48 thank you thank you is there anyone who hasn't spoken yet that we wish us to speak not hearing one the gentleman who wanted to speak a second time go ahead hi it's me can you hear me we can okay um it's Dale Hackett again I just wanted to comment based on the wonderful community input that I've been hearing and I've heard a lot of comments alluding to blue cross blue shield and MVP I I think I'll go a step further MVP and blue cross blue shield are failures when it comes to affordability that's what these great support is the failure within the company I'm not saying that they don't deliver some successes and health care services but nonetheless when it comes to affordability the companies fail and we continue to support that because the way institutional health care works there's a lot of inertia in it and it takes a tremendous amount of momentum like I've been hearing in these testimonies this is a real community testimony that's the kind of momentum that could create change if you can get the people that make the decisions to also create the change and that's not just the green mountain care board that's the legislature that's the governor that's an awful lot of people but if you really want to do it and maybe covert's a trigger that will cause it seems like you just need good momentum going if you can just organize and go after it but I think you're right I think MVP and blue cross blue shield in many ways are failures and that we're reminded that every time these rates go up like this that's it thank you DL is there anyone else who wishes to speak Kevin Mike Fisher here go ahead Mike I wonder if you'd let me do a final plug and thank you you may so first off I want to just say again what I said at the beginning of the meeting that if anybody on this call knows of somebody who needs particular individual help in this crazy system please encourage them to reach out to my office the office of the health care advocate and that can be accomplished by calling our phone number and I'll say it again 800-917-7787 I also want to just take a moment to appreciate appreciate everybody who's spoken today and appreciate the expression of the expression of outrage and appreciate the emotion maybe is what I mean to say and then I also want to appreciate the board each and every member of the board has sat through a tremendous number of hours in the last two days I've sat with them for many of them and I appreciate their work is really what I want to say thank you thank you Mike with that I'm going to wish everybody a very good evening again if anyone thinks of something that they wish as they had said you can go to our website and submit a written public comment or you can call the phone number and leave a recorded public comment and that is open until next Thursday the 23rd thank you everyone have a good night good night good night Kevin good night