Sen. Sanders (front left) meets with Levine (front right), Leffler (second from right), and other top state health leaders. (Photo: Glenn Russell, VTDigger)

(May 31, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center and professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine; Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., professor of medicine and associate dean for graduate medical education at Larner; and other top state health leaders joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, for a roundtable discussion on why health care is becoming increasingly unaffordable, according to VTDigger.

Leffler cited shortages of nurses and other care providers, expensive prescription drugs, a shortage of long-term care facilities, and an aging population. “We need more younger Vermonters who need less health care, are not on meds, don’t have chronic illnesses,” he said. “We’re seeing and feeling that every day.”

Levine pointed out that Vermont ranks high in nationwide health rankings, but noted that the state is still grappling with some of the downstream effects of the Covid-19 pandemic: homelessness, substance use, mental health challenges, and deferred health care. “Every single person [in the hospital] is way more complex than they were five years ago, or 10 years ago,” he said. 

Identifying the cost drivers is one thing; fixing them, of course, is another.


This story was also covered by Vermont Public.