The state of Vermont, and its largest city of Burlington, are acknowledged as being among the healthiest places to live in the U.S. However, significant issues affect the current state health care system, which is presently undergoing a redesign. Although Vermont's health care provisions for residents are relatively generous, there are several issues affecting the ability of individuals to access these services.
Access to Health Care
Several factors combine to limit overall access to health care in Vermont. For a start, money plays a part. In a state with a relatively low population base, there are nonetheless thousands of uninsured Vermonters who simply cannot afford health insurance. The geography of the state also plays a part in reducing health care access. Vermont is a rural state, with no population centers housing over 50,000 people, and health care facilities are concentrated in only a few locations throughout the state. Rural Vermonters may therefore live a long way from the nearest health care facility--particularly for individuals without a reliable vehicle, or those who live year-round in Vermont's extreme winters--physically getting to a health care facility may present a serious challenge.
Language Barrier
Vermont has historically been a French- and English-speaking state. However, in recent years many Spanish speakers have come to Vermont to work on the state's dairy farms. Additionally, refugees from diverse African and Asian countries have been resettled in the Burlington area. These populations provide a challenge to health care providers who may not have a common language with their patients, and may not be able to assess or diagnose such patients due to language and cultural barriers. In future, Vermont will need to develop health care provision with a much wider reach in terms of language.
High Median Age in Vermont
The median age in Vermont is relatively high in comparison to the United States as a whole. Such an aging population creates certain health care issues in and of itself, as demand for certain services outstrips supply. The older population in Vermont is inherently more likely to need a higher level of health care than a younger population would, on average, and this increases health care costs and needs statewide.
Paper Medical Records
A majority of health care providers in the state of Vermont continue to operate a paper-based system of medical records. In comparison to electronic medical records, such a system is time-wasting, expensive and potentially dangerous for patients whose medical records are not quickly accessible. Fletcher Allen Health Care, the largest health care provider in the state of Vermont, is only in 2010 beginning the process of changing over to an electronic method of medical record storage.
Fragmentation
Fragmentation is defined as the single largest health care issue in the state of Vermont by Dr. William Hsiao. Dr. Hsiao is a Harvard-based economist currently charged with designing health care models for Vermont. Health care programs and facilities in Vermont currently form a kind of patchwork system, with private, federal and state medical programs creating a system that is duplicative and wasteful.
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