MiddWorks for Vermont Summer 2026 - Health Care System Design Internship
Please note: Your résumé MUST be approved by a CCI Peer Career Advisor in order to apply in Handshake if you are a Middlebury student. (If your résumé was approved last year and has been updated with new experiences, it remains valid.)
‘Healthcare is a Responsibility, Not a Right and Not a Privilege’
Project: The current American health care system is unsustainable, scaled from the individual paying for health insurance, a nation with budgetary constraints and limited growth, to a human population living beyond the ecological capacities of a planet. During this eight-week summer internship, participants will explore the health care system in Vermont and the state’s struggles to build a single-payer system. Using the clinical condition of low back pain, participants will explore all the preventative measures available to individuals with this condition and then design a health care system that delivers the appropriate clinical intervention over the course of a patient’s life. Two to three participants will build a health care system possible today by obviating the specialty interests (i.e. hospitals, health care insurance companies, specialty lobbying groups, Big Pharma, and medical technology industry) that dominate the story. In short, the participants will design a design that puts the patient first.
Once the participants have designed an individualized health care system, they will theoretically test a scaled up a system for Vermont against the following backdrop:
- basic healthcare is 100% provided by federal/state funding via taxes, no-copays, no excluding pre-existing conditions, no administrative bloat
- ‘basic healthcare’ defined as check-ups, vaccines, well-child and pregnancy care, emergency care, infections, accidents, evidence-based screening, cancer care, all diagnostics/therapeutics not clearly related to lifestyle choice/bad habits (primarily obesity, drug abuse, smoking, non-vax, extreme hobbies and activities)
- each American Board specialty draws a tripartite list of covered/semi-covered/not covered diseases
- citizens have the option to purchase additional care coverage via private industry exchanges (Volkswagen to Mercedes options, but the citizen pays for it voluntarily and 100%
- expanded HSA accounts to encourage citizens to choose wisely,
- design incentives built into insurance purchases (e.g., BMI, drug screens, diet and exercise modifications) that represent objective markers that reduce the price of supplemental insurance.
A strong background in basic economics or previous exposure to health care finance is appropriate. Basic facility in word processing and Excel assumed. Teamwork and communication skills are necessary. Students will need to complete IRB and HIPAA compliance training before shadowing clinical providers. Minimum commitment: 30 hours/week each week. The course director will help the students organize their tasks given the curriculum and shadowing opportunities available. Of note, interns are expected to be self-directed and function independently at a myriad of communication, writing, and network tasks.
MiddWorks for Vermont Cohort Internship Program
Middlebury College is deeply committed to the future of Vermont. Through the MiddWorks for Vermont Cohort Internship Program, CCI funds student internships at Vermont organizations that strengthen the state’s economy, workforce, environment, education system, health, equity, and arts and culture.
Each internship offers hands-on experience, strong mentorship, and insight into why Vermont is an exceptional place to live and work. Students participate in cohort programming and typically live together in Burlington or Middlebury.
Funding: Interns receive a $5,000 CCI award to support their summer experience.
Housing: Available for a fee at Middlebury College or Champlain College in Burlington.
Requirements: CCI-approved résumé; participation in cohort meetings; completion of pre-internship forms, a post-internship evaluation, and a donor thank-you letter
Eligibility: Open to returning Middlebury students. Seniors graduating in May 2026, students not enrolled in Spring or Fall 2026, and those planning to transfer are not eligible.