On the median Vermont home worth $316,600, the property tax bill is now about $5,039 a year.[1] Five years ago it was closer to $3,570. The cause of the spike isn't teacher salaries or potholes. It's hospital pricing, flowing through school employee health premiums into the Education Fund, which makes up 70–80% of your property tax bill.[2] Vermont hospitals charge commercial insurers 6.9 times Medicare rates, the highest ratio in the nation.[3] This page shows you the math, the fix, and what to do about it.
"Property taxes go to schools" is roughly true, but it's not specific enough to be useful. Follow one tax dollar through three drill-downs, and you'll land on the actual line item driving your bill up: Vermont hospitals.
So no — your school district isn't out of control. Your hospital is. The next section explains how Vermont got the highest hospital prices in America.
Hospitals charge two very different prices for the same services. Medicare (the federal government) pays a regulated rate. Commercial insurers (the ones covering school employees, state employees, and everyone with employer-sponsored coverage) pay whatever they can negotiate. When one hospital system dominates a region, that negotiation isn't really a negotiation. According to a 2026 JAMA Health Forum study, Vermont leads the nation:
Most of this comes down to one organization. The University of Vermont Health Network, anchored by UVM Medical Center in Burlington with affiliates including Central Vermont Medical Center and Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, generates approximately $1.3 billion in annual net patient revenue at UVMMC alone, more than the next ten Vermont hospitals combined.[7]
That's the state's own hospital regulator. And the network's pricing power isn't going to pay for better outcomes for Vermonters. Independent analysis shows profits at Vermont hospitals have been used to subsidize money-losing affiliates in upstate New York.[9] Meanwhile, Vermont ranks 48th in the nation on hospital safety, with no UVM Health Network hospital scoring above a D on the most recent Leapfrog ratings.[9]
Highest prices in America. Some of the lowest safety scores. Profits flowing out of state. And this is what's driving your property tax bill.
The Vermont Education Health Initiative (the pool that insures every Vermont public school employee) has watched its flagship family plan premium climb from $17,394 in 2018 to $40,909 in 2026.[10] That's not inflation. Over the same period, the national Consumer Price Index rose 32%. VEHI premiums rose 135%.
That's the regulator drawing the direct line. Hospital prices → VEHI premiums → school budgets → your bill.
In 2019, Oregon capped what hospitals could charge its school and state employee plans at 200% of Medicare, the same approach Vermont's S.190 is debating now. A peer-reviewed Brown University study published in Health Affairs in 2025 found Oregon saved $107.5 million in the first 27 months. Out-of-pocket costs dropped 9.5%. All 24 affected hospitals remained in-network. No closures. No doctors fled. Hospital operating margins barely moved.[11]
Plug in your home value. See what the cumulative tax increase has cost you over the last five years, and what reform could save you over the next five.
Vermont's legislature is debating these right now. Some have already become law. Others are at the make-or-break stage. Each one is a real, evidence-backed lever, not a slogan.
The status quo is roughly 6–8% annual property tax increases as far as the eye can see. With the reforms above passing and being implemented, that growth rate could drop to inflation-rate (2–3%) by FY29. Over five years, the gap is substantial. Modeled on Oregon's actual results plus Green Mountain Care Board projections.
Most people assume contacting legislators doesn't matter. The research disagrees, and it's not close. A randomized field experiment published in Political Behavior found:
Vermont state legislators each represent very small districts, often only a few thousand people. That means a single phone call from a constituent carries unusual weight. Phone calls beat emails, which beat social media. The same Congressional Management Foundation research found personalized phone calls and letters from constituents are the single most influential form of communication staff give to their member.[18]
Vermont's official tool. Takes 30 seconds. You'll get the name, phone, and email for your House rep and your senator.
Find them →Phone calls beat email by a wide margin. You don't need to be an expert. You just need to say you live in their district and what you want.
See the script →Text this page to one person. The math on reform is real, but only if enough people see it. Two minutes, real impact.
Share this page →For S.190 (reference-based pricing). Adapt as needed.
That's it. 60 seconds, max. They will count your call. If they aren't there, leave a voicemail. Staff log those too.