By: Jessica Tara; WCAX

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hosted a round table in Burlington Friday afternoon to talk about health care costs in the state.

It comes after the only insurers in Vermont’s marketplace this month proposed premium rate increases. If they are approved, Vermonters could see increases between 9% and 19%.

Sanders says the proposed rate increases from Blue Cross and MVP would make a bad situation in Vermont even worse and that the goal of the round table was to understand why health care costs in Vermont are soaring.

Health care providers, representatives of the state’s largest insurance companies, as well as small business owners struggling to pay for employee coverage, joined the conversation Friday. All agreed that the country’s health care system is broken, saying people are paying more for less quality care that is difficult to access.

“One of the most important things going on in health care right now in Vermont is what’s called hospital system transformation under Act 167. And the Green Mountain Care Board’s contractor will be rolling out important changes to our hospital system in an effort to make the hospitals financially solvent and sustainable and to decrease the financial pressure on Vermonters. So, I think that needs to be taken very seriously and we need serious change with our system,” said Owen Foster, chair of the Green Mountain Care Board.

The proposals in Act 167 are currently under review and would take effect in January 2025.