'Savvier consumers'

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont now says Vermonters have a "personal responsibility" to become "savvier consumers" in light of Vermont's "health care affordability crisis."

How odd. We have several institutions that comprise and control health care — the hospitals, insurance companies, regulators, legislator — but BCBS thinks each of the 600,000-plus individual Vermonters bears responsibility for addressing the affordability crisis?

Those institutions have infinitely more power to address the crisis, and are already funded by those 600,000-plus Vermonters, who also pay for every single health-care dollar through premiums, taxes and out-of-pocket payments.

What might health care shopping look like for a patient who, say, needs some non-emergency surgery?

Drive 35 miles from home to get the cheapest blood work at Hospital A. Drive back home. Next day, drive 20 miles to Hospital B for the cheapest lung X-ray. Drive back home. Next week, drive 50 miles to Hospital C for the cheapest surgery's pre-op exam. Drive back home. The next week, drive 50 miles to Hospital C for the surgery. Drive home after recovery.

That's 310 miles roundtrip, assuming you don't need to return to Hospital C for problems or follow-up. Add in the hours spent locating the best "value" for each procedure. Add in the fact there is no electronic records connection between Hospitals A, B and C.

If that's a solution, we are doomed.

We need one of the universal health care systems operating elsewhere around the planet, preferably a single-payer system.

Lee Russ

Bennington