Last updated: February 2023

Author: Planning Unit, Vermont Department of Health

Costs of health insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses for healthcare visits and medications continue to be barriers to accessing care, even as more Vermonters acquire health insurance. In 2021, 6% of Vermont adults said there was a time in the last year they did not go to the doctor because of cost, compared to 10% of U.S. adults. Cost as a barrier to care is significantly lower among Vermonters 65 and older, when compared with other age groups (2% of seniors vs. 7-10% of others).

Those with lower levels of education and annual household income are more likely to have forgone care due to cost, as compared to those with more education or higher income. Adults with some college education or less are significantly more likely to cite cost as a barrier to medical care (6-9%) than those with a college degree or higher (4%).

You can find more information in the Vermont Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System annual data summary reports.

The Health Department understands that addressing this need requires strong partnerships between public health and healthcare organizations.

Some of our current partners include:

• Vermont Free & Referral Clinics (previously Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured--VCCU)
• Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) & Bi-State Primary Care Association (PCA)
  • Northern Tier Center for Health (NOTCH)
  • Lamoille Health Partners
  • Northern Counties Health Care (NCHC)
  • The Health Center (THC)
  • Little Rivers Health Center (LRHC)
  • Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB)
  • Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region (CHCRR)
  • North Star Health
  • Mountain Community Health
  • Gifford Health Care (GHC)
  • Battenkill Valley Health Center (BVHC)

Affordable health insurance (ongoing premiums and co-payments) enables patients to seek care with confidence that doing so will not be a financial burden to them.

Strong working relationships between Vermont’s free clinics and other local providers helps bridge the connection between patients needing ongoing care and practices that can provide that care.

The clinics of Vermont's Free & Referral Clinics offers vouchers for medications when available and appropriate. FQHCs and RHCs also provide care on a sliding scale fee, and are required to provide care to anyone regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.

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. You can find more information on the Department of Health BRFSS data page.

Due to BRFSS weighting methodology changes beginning in 2011, comparisons between data collected in 2011 and later and that from 2010 and earlier should be made with caution. Differences between data from 2011 forward and earlier years may be due to methodological changes, rather than changes in opinion or behavior.