Updated: February 2023

Author: Planning Unit, Vermont Department of Health

Our goal is to have 100% of adult Vermonters with adequate health insurance. In 2010, only 9% of Vermonters were uninsured, compared to 17% nationally (2008, HP2020 goals). Many more were under-insured with only catastrophic health insurance coverage.

The state wide rate of insurance coverage for those 18-64 reached an all time high of 96% in 2018. Though it has dropped slightly in recent years, the rate of insured adults in Vermont remains high.

For me details on insurance coverage in Vermont see additional data from the Vermont Household Insurance Survey.

This indicator is part of an important set of indicators included in state-level reporing requirements for Act 186. This act was passed by the Vermont Legislature in 2014 to quantify how well State government is working to achieve the population-level outcomes which the Legislature sets for Vermont’s quality of life. These data assist the Legislature in determining how best to invest taxpayer dollars. The Vermont Department of Health and the Agency of Human Services report this information annually. You can find these and related reports on the Vermont Chief Performance Office page.

• Vermont Health Connect program from the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) is Vermont's Health Insurance Marketplace.
• Vermont's Free and Referral Clinics
• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) & Bi-State Primary Care Association (PCA)

Having adequate health insurance coverage can reduce barriers to quality health care and may even improve an individual’s health. A key component of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is that anyone with an insurance plan is now guaranteed access to many preventive services that were rarely covered under catastrophic health insurance plans of the past and very expensive if paid out of pocket.

Vermont Health Connect, the ACA-funded online Health Insurance Exchange is operated by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA). DVHA also contracts with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Free Clinics and other provider practices to employ Navigators and Assistors. These staff members work with Vermonters who are enrolling or re-enrolling in commercial and publicly funded health insurance plans.

Vermont’s State Office of Rural Health & Primary Care (SORH/PCO) provides an annual grant to the Vermont Free Clinics to help support operations of 9 free clinics around the state. While some of these clinics provide free medical and/or dental care to uninsured patients, all clinics act as Navigators or Assistors to enroll uninsured Vermonters into Medicaid or commercial health insurance plans through Vermont Health Connect. This annual grant to clinics is funded out of Vermont’s 1115 Medicaid waiver, known as Global Commitment.

Similar to statewide efforts, local partners are using data to drive local strategy. For regional data on access to health indicators, check out our Public Health Data Explorer.

Data is updated as it becomes available and timing may vary by data source.