Dear Editor,Tom Sullivan is right that “It’s time to come together to find common ground and an amicable path forward for health care reform in Vermont.” But he lists the parties that should come together as “health care providers, regulators, insurance carriers and the Legislature.”What’s missing from that list? Patients: all those ordinary people who pay the freight for every one of Mr. Sullivan’s listed interested parties through taxes, insurance premiums and the ever growing amount of expenses they pay in “out-of-pocket” cash. The interests of patients rarely get taken into account directly even though they fund the entire health care system and rely on that system for their well-being.READ MORE Open hearings on health care would allow all parties — patients as well as health care providers, regulators, insurance carriers and the Legislature — to have their say on what needs to be done to provide a sustainable high quality health care system for Vermont. There is an online petition calling on the Legislature to hold such open hearings. Please add your name to let legislators know how important this is.Lee RussBenningtonRead the story on VTDigger here: Lee Russ: Health care reform debates need to include patients’ interests.