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Hundreds of residents expressed their support for Gifford Medical Center at a community meeting this week after a report released in September said Gifford will not be able to sustain its operations without major restructuring.

The health network announced a range of planned cuts, including closing an inpatient psychiatric unit, ending operation of kidney dialysis centers, and admitting fewer patients for overnight hospital care.

It鈥檚 open enrollment for people who buy their health insurance through the state鈥檚 marketplace, and most qualify for substantial subsidies from the federal government.

The accountable care organization will close by the end of 2025. OneCare worked to lower health care costs and improve patient outcomes by moving away from a fee-for-service payment model.

The public forum, hosted by Gifford Medical Center, will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. It will be held in Judd Hall Gym at Vermont State University鈥檚 Randolph Center campus.

Vermont鈥檚 largest city has tasked its board of health, a five-member citizen advisory group, with examining ways to improve the local needle exchange program. The public health measure is meant to prevent the spread of disease and infection among people who use injection drugs.

Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend is the latest Vermont hospital to organize a public forum in opposition to a series of hospital reforms suggested in a recent statewide report.

The skyrocketing cost of health care is a key cost driver for Vermont school budgets. And for the third year in a row, premiums for school employees will rise by double digits.

Some experts say increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers, and boosting funding for primary care, could help address increasing costs and barriers to access.

North Star Health, based in Springfield, will close a health clinic in Bellows Falls that serves about 2,300 patients.