OneCare Vermont is facing fierce opposition to its very existence in ongoing deliberations about how to bring the massive bureaucratic entity to account. OneCare Vermont has pitched itself as an “Accountable Care Organization” that will “improve health outcomes” and reduce costs, yet many have been vocally skeptical of such claims. OneCare appears to have increased costs for Vermont health care without improving access to care or offering any measurable health improvements.
OneCare Vermont is a managerial entity that coordinates others but does not provide any actual medical care. It describes itself:
OneCare does not deliver care, but provides resources and support to the providers that care for patients. OneCare partners with your local health care providers, and provides core supports for them as they change the way they deliver care and accept increasing accountability for the cost and quality of care. OneCare supports providers through three key core capabilities: network performance management, data and analytics, and payment reform.
Yet this progressive model has demonstrated no significant results, and may be counterproductive. Bureaucrats being highly paid to compel doctors and nurses how to be more accountable has fallen short of all it was cracked up to be:
Rules intended to monitor the quality of hospital care and rein in healthcare costs can have an unhealthy effect on patients, new research suggests. ….As hospitals grind out paperwork on a growing list of quality measures, the burden has become “substantial and counterproductive, resulting in lower care quality and higher prices for patients,” said Ge Bai, a professor of accounting and health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University and a co-author of the study. “Clinicians are dedicating more time to reporting quality and less time for patient care, and hospitals are allocating resources to regulatory compliance instead of patients.”
Similar concerns have been leveled against OneCare Vermont, including charges of excessive and concealed salaries for executives, and millions in spending for which there is no oversight or accountability (per Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer). Whistleblower Robert Hoffman has also been a vocal critic, alleging that OneCare’s representations bordered on the fraudulent. In the last fiscal period, OneCare became 50% more costly per attributive life to administrate. BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont has expressed lack of confidence in OneCare Vermont, and withdrawn its participation.
In June 13 public comments addressing OneCare’s own accountability shortcomings, Mark Hage, Director of Benefit Programs with the Vermont NEA, described his early misgivings that OneCare VT was “a hospital-centric entity” that was yet unproven. Mr. Hage was specific in his criticisms, which echo longstanding alarms:
Heading into year seven of OCV’s existence, the union is still resolved that OCV is not, and will never be, the structural vehicle to achieve affordable access to high-quality health care for Vermonters and their employers, or to address the critical needs of our community care providers and small rural hospitals. ….the affordability and access crisis in health care is much worse statewide, and levels of potentially avoidable care are shockingly high in the hospital sector. Our primary care practices, mental health counselors, nurses, and home health care providers are grossly under-resourced and struggling with well-documented staff shortages.
Mr. Hage’s characterization of OneCare as a “failed model” is apt. It is also reminiscent of Peter Shumlin’s over-expensive and under-effective Green Mountain Care Plan, of which Forbes reported:
Vermont single payer: An unmitigated failure
What’s remarkable, then, about Shumlin’s attempt at single-payer health care is not that it failed. What’s remarkable is that he wasted the state’s time and resources on something that attempted to refute the laws of arithmetic. That’s four years Shumlin wasn’t spending on making the Vermont economy better for the people who live there.
That was in 2014, or nine years ago. In the seven years since OneCare began, the deja-vu taxpayer losses have been repeated, except they are exponentially higher. If the Green Mountain Care Board can’t squeeze some accountability from OneCare Vermont’s rather exhibitionist squandering of public funds, perhaps all of Vermont government has become a failed model.
John Klar is an attorney and farmer residing in Brookfield. © Copyright True North Reports 2023. All rights reserved.
All those who are involved in the destruction of Vermont and the country can’t be very deep thinkers to begin with. Eventually, this will all reach each and every one of them in one way or another. The history of most people is that anything that doesn’t concern them, doesn’t bothers them. For every action there is a reaction. Sometimes the reaction takes time to initiate or build up. All of this will come to a head, like a nasty pimple. When the infection can’t be contained any longer it brakes open and releases the pressure. We see this happening all across the country. Cities are under collapse, crime is exploding, the government and the media appear to be corrupt as well as the justice system. When will it burst? We don’t know, but it is coming and those found responsible will dine at the Karma Cafe.
Does anyone expect any different outcome? Name just one thing that the liberals have done that worked well for we the people.
Fraud has a limited shelf life. For those committing fraud, assisting in fraud, and ignoring fraud, they cannot contain or cover the scam indefinately. All assets and resources are spent to cover it up and the crimes take on a life of their own and they ultimately lose control of it. They become clumsy, irratic, and desparate which leads to errors and mistakes that expose them and the criminal conduct. There are multi-layers and many people involved in the multiple criminal acts committed here. All are connected to DC and other regions across the country and around the globe. The good news is their game board is about to be upended and destroyed. Declared and decreed.
Precisely. I have doggedly followed the facts, cataloguing and memorializing same through FOIA requests and my own discovery from litigation. It goes all the way to the top including misfeasance by DVHA and CMS dereliction of duty. It’s all memorialized unlike EB-5 and I’m going to make it available when the time comes for a proper accounting.
Great to hear! I have a few to be added to the list. I caught a local nursing home and the State lying and in clear violation of Title 42, patients rights and CMS guidelines updated May 8, 2023. The owner of said nursing home cannot be found or reached. There are two, dual listed LLC’s to the same property and business. The financial firm in charge cannot be reached by phone or email (info contact link for their email is rejected if not registered in their server) FRAUD. Oddly, after challenging the State and the nursing home, there is now a new outbreak being reported out of a Middlebury nursing home. ActBlue donations reported from a cashier working at a local Walmart. This person made numerous small donations several times in one day, one week, one year. The name and address of the said Walmart cashier matches an artist who is registered/featured with the Vermont Arts Council and has a website advertising her artwork. FRAUD.
Marxism fails where ever it is followed. Works really well for the sociopaths, narcissists and psychopaths that yield power in government, they always live high on the hog until it’s collapse.
Want to know the way to peacefully help its collapse? They state their enemy every day, it’s their kryptonnite, they are helpless against it. It’s the thing they rail against in the schools, the papers,government, every where.
It’s the educated, kind, gentle, loving, patient, joyful, peaceful Christian male leading his family, leading at work, leading in the public square. This would also include those of Jewish faith too.
This is why they say down with the patriarchy, this is why they blame a 7 year old male in elementary school for all the racism in the world, this is why they allow any other religious thought, but not Jesus. They have no defense against Jesus, they have no defense against those who follow him, from a practical, sense they are the only ones who know truth and love.
The Bible is all about good guys, God guys winning. This struggle has gone on since time began, it’s nothing new. Ask the Assyrians, the Romans, Alexander the great, Adolph Hitler…..some are constantly “on the wrong side of history” in their quest to be gods themselves.
Truth and Love always wins, God is always in control. There is no reason to worry or fret, it will all work out, as it always has in the past. TGBTG.
In the seven years since OneCare began, the deja-vu taxpayer losses have been repeated, except they are exponentially higher.
In the meantime, the State of Vermont established a bold goal in 2011 through its Comprehensive Energy Plan to meet 90% of Vermont’s energy needs from renewable sources and increased efficiency.
Imagine what a goat-rope that is turn into ….
WITH ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY!
Yet we keep giving the unelected great power in government.
Vermont has become a “failed model” in more areas than just health care. Consider public education, taxation, representation, support for businesses, and other areas too numerous to mention. We’re circling the drain of “total failure”.
Exactly!
Yup the leftist commies have pretty much succeeded in making us just like California, the state they like to emulate. When you elect people with no thinking capabilities you get people that can only follow their flocks agenda’s. Soon VT will have the same percent of people fleeing the un-affordable conditions here and at just over 1/2 million residents now it won’t take long to empty it.
Just looked up the statistics for those fleeing commiefornia and between 2015-2021 413,000 left in 2022 alone 300,000 left. of course they are refilling the state with lots of illegals to require even more payout by those still working for a living.
This isn’t news. Liberals have no ability to do basic math & fiscally analyze anything they do or propose. They operate on feelings & emotions first, then second – how will it affect Climate, Gender, BLM, DEI, ESG , EV’s and LGBTQ. Everything they eventually touch will turn to s**t
Jeff, the reason all those 3 letter and beyond organizations turn to s**t is because they are all based on ideology not science or reality. Just because it feels good does not mean its good.
The proof is in the present.
Exactly, they are so busy with their Transformative, Social, Emotional Learning, who has time for advanced math skills.
Marxists believe in free money, it’s not your money anyway because you didn’t earn that…….so regardless of the limited math skills they have a fools mentality, aka narcissist mid set. I’m God, I know everything do as I say mentality. Pride goeth before the fall……leads them over the cliff and they’ll never see it coming.