Sanders Backs $320 Million Health Care Plan in Winooski

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders stood outside the Community Health Centers in Winooski on Thursday to campaign with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amanda Janoo. The event marked the first time the two have appeared together publicly since Sanders endorsed Janoo on October 7. With Election Day less than two weeks away, the visit highlighted Janoo's central promise to fund primary health care with state money.

Sanders called the upcoming midterm vote the most important in United States history. He said his support for Janoo stems from her progressive agenda, specifically her plan to cover routine checkups and screenings. Unlike Sanders' own Medicare for All proposal, which would create a national system for all medical care, Janoo's plan targets only primary and preventive services. Vermonters would still need private insurance for hospital stays and surgeries under her system.

The cost of current coverage drives the urgency of the proposal. In 2025, Vermont’s lowest-cost bronze health plans averaged more than twice the national price, according to VT Healthcare 911. Janoo’s plan would have the state pay participating doctors and nurses. This approach would remove copays and deductibles for primary care. She intends to fund the program by raising taxes on wealthy Vermonters.

Janoo described the goal as making health care free at the point of care. She noted that her estimate for the proposal is at least $320 million annually. During a debate on Wednesday night, she suggested higher taxes on the wealthy could raise roughly $260 million per year. She added that the program might save money by reducing expensive emergency department visits. Those savings estimates remain preliminary.

Incumbent Governor Phil Scott has questioned the feasibility of a state-only approach. He argued during Wednesday's debate that Vermont cannot afford another experiment in sweeping health care reform. Scott pointed to a 2011 law that laid the groundwork for a single-payer system, which Governor Peter Shumlin abandoned in 2014 over financing concerns. Scott said any major change must be done nationally.

Scott signed legislation in June directing officials to study universal primary care implementation. The law calls for recommendations to lawmakers in January. Janoo suggested that communities could begin piloting her program within her first 100 days in office. Sanders acknowledged that Vermont cannot solve national health care issues alone. He argued that expanding primary care would improve health and reduce costly hospital visits. He called the potential achievement extraordinary.