(Host) Senator Bernie Sanders wants to dramatically increase funding for community health centers across the county. Vermont currently has 8 of the centers.
Sanders’ plan is being strongly supported by the Obama Administration and it’s been included in the Senate’s overall health care reform bill.
VPRs Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) Vermont’s 8 centers provide primary care, dental care and mental health services to roughly 100,000 people in the state. Many of these individuals have health insurance but haven’t been able to find doctors, dentists or mental health counselors who are taking on new patients.
About 10% of the people at these clinics have no insurance and they pay their expenses based on their income.
Under Sanders’ plan, federal funding for community health centers across the country would quadruple over the next 5 years from its current budget of $2 billion a year to $8 billion:
(Sanders) "The advantage of doing that is that when people have access to a doctor – when they feel comfortable about walking in the door – they’re not going to go to an emergency room at a much higher cost to the system. They’re not going to stay home and not go to a doctor and get sick and end up in the hospital after a lot of personal suffering and a lot greater expense to the whole system."
(Kinzel) Mary Wakefield is a top health care administrator in the Obama Administration. She says the president supports Sanders’ plan:
(Wakefield) "The types of health care services that are made available through community health centers that is a focus on primary care has a lot of support from this Administration that is a focus on keeping people healthy and preventing illness and that’s a big piece of what community health centers do."
(Kinzel) On the larger issue of health care reform, there were reports over the weekend that the President is prepared to compromise with Congressional Republicans and remove a provision from the bill that would create a new public plan modeled after Medicare.
Sanders says that speculation is premature and he thinks the public plan will survive:
(Sanders) "I am a strong advocate of a public option I think that is one mechanism to keep the private insurance companies honest. If you’re serious about cost containment you have to do that and so my strong hope and expectation is there will be a strong public option in any health care bill that is passed."
(Kinzel) Obama health care administrator Mary Wakefield says the President remains committed to the creation of a new public plan:
(Wakefield) "He believes that a public option really helps to ensure increased choice as well as increased competition in the health insurance market, so he’s always said it and is saying that currently as well."
(Kinzel) Sanders will be holding another health care town hall meeting this weekend – it will take place on Sunday afternoon in Peacham.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.