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Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank, today reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2014. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, was $1,069,538 or $1.05 per share compared to $770,834 or $0.76 per share for the same period in 2013, an increase of $298,704 or 38.8 percent. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 was $2,995,493, or $2.95 per share compared to $2,324,331 or $2.30 per share for the same period in 2013, an increase of $671,162 or 28.9 percent. The increase in net income for the quarter and first nine months when compared to the prior year is due to an increase in lending activity and an increase in revenue from Ledyard Financial Advisors.

The Vermont Department of Health has announced the award of a $400,000 Vermont Health Care Innovation Project grant to the Community Committee on Healthy Lifestyles and its new RISE VT program. The RISE VT grant award, which will be spread over two years, supports the development of a community-wide, multi-stakeholder campaign to improve the health of Franklin and Grand Isle counties. The program would engage people of all ages in better health by offering membership for individuals, groups, and businesses, through a point system that recognizes and encourages participation in healthy habits. As participants increase their commitment to healthy lifestyles, they are rewarded with higher levels of membership.

In addition to the membership program, RISE VT will also be the catalyst for several new community-based healthy lifestyle building blocks, including:

The Vermont Gas Board of Directors announced today that Donald Gilbert will be retiring at the end of the year and Donald J Rendall will become the new President and CEO of Vermont Gas, effective January 1, 2015. Rendall, who comes from Green Mountain Power Corp, succeeds Don Gilbert of Hinesburg, who has led Vermont Gas for over 13 years.

“I am proud of my tenure leading Vermont Gas,” said Gilbert. “Vermont Gas is in a strong position to continue to offer Vermonters clean, low cost fuel and help transition the state to a renewable energy future. I am looking forward to working with Don Rendall over the coming weeks to achieve a successful leadership transition.”

“The Board appreciates Don Gilbert’s many years of service to Vermont Gas, his community and Vermont. He has led Vermont Gas, the state’s gas distribution utility, to strong, steady customer growth and excellent customer service over his tenure,” said Pierre Despars, Chair of the Board.

Because Vermont school districts on average provide health insurance at what would be considered a "Platinum Plus" plan now, if they transitioned to a Vermont Health Connect "Gold" level plan, it would result in premium savings for school districts of almost $39 million if the current 14 percent employee premium contribution were continued. The Vermont School Boards Association has just released a report detailing the financial impact of health care reform on Vermont’s school districts. This issue is the perfect nexus between two of our state’s most pressing policy issues—the implementation of health care reform and rising property tax rates.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org The federal government will not make direct payments from Medicare to Vermont, according to state officials, countering campaign season claims that the Shumlin administration wants to take over Medicare as part of single-payer. Act 48, the 2011 law that sets Vermont on a course toward single-payer, created a framework for Green Mountain Care — as the program is known — to absorb Medicare, but only with federal approval. Robin Lunge, director of Health Care Reform, said unequivocally Monday that it won’t happen.

“Federal law does not permit us to get the cash,” she said.

Vermont Business Magazine Opponents of the natural gas pipeline under construction in Chittenden and Addison counties occupied the lobby area outside Governor Peter Shumlin's office in Montpelier late Monday afternoon. Police arrested 64 of the protesters and cited them for trespassing. Police reported that the protest was without incident. Vermont State Police reported that, in conjunction with several other law enforcement agencies, it monitored the events of the scheduled protest throughout the day. Late in the afternoon law enforcement was notified that protestors had made their way into the Pavilion Building on 109 State Street in Montpelier. The protesters proceeded upstairs without authorization and occupied the lobby of the governor’s office on the fifth floor. Other protestors remained on the first floor of the building, near the elevators.

Toby Sadkin, MD, a family medicine physician practicing in St Albans, is the recipient of the 2014 Physician Executive of the Year Award from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), a national association for medical practice executives and leaders. In addition to seeing patients full-time at St. Albans Primary Care, Dr. Sadkin is the Executive Committee chair at Primary Care Health Partners (PCHP), a group of eight primary care offices located in Vermont and upstate New York. She is the managing partner of PCHP’s Vermont offices, located in Brattleboro, Burlington, Bennington, South Burlington, and St. Albans. PCHP is the largest physician-owned primary care organization in Vermont.

The Brattleboro Retreat will present the hospital’s 2014 Anna Marsh Award to Vermont State Representative Bill Lippert of Hinesburg at the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus event to be held on Saturday, November 1 at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. Representative Lippert has served in the Vermont Legislature since his initial appointment by Governor Howard Dean in 1994.

by Morgan True vtdigger.org Executives at Vermont hospitals faced with paying back hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases millions, to Medicare say the repayments weaken their financial positions, but won’t have a direct impact on patient services. The repayments are the result of Medicare enforcing a 2012 policy change that many hospital executives say was unexpected. The policy change has been applied retroactively to 2010. The Vermont Association for Hospitals and Health Systems estimates the total impact on 10 Vermont hospitals at $12 million to $14 million.

Most affected hospitals have been aware of the possible Medicare repayments for some time and accounted for them in their recently approved 2015 budgets, according to the 10 hospital chief financial officers who were interviewed for this story.

But the repayments will leave hospitals with less cash on hand to deal with unexpected costs.

UHC has announced the winners of the 2014 UHC Supply Chain Performance Excellence Award, UHC Supplier Diversity Leadership Award, and UHC Sustainability Award at the UHC Annual Conference 2014 in Las Vegas. Fletcher Allen Health Care, based in Burlington, was one of six awardees from across the country.

2014 UHC Supply Chain Performance Excellence Award

Honored for excellence in supply chain management, the UHC Supply Chain Performance Excellence Award winners are:

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc (NYSE: BHLB) reported a 5 percent increase in core earnings per share to $0.46 in the third quarter of 2014 from $0.44 in the prior quarter. Berkshire Hills is the parent company of Berkshire Bank, with offices in southern Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. Third quarter core EPS advanced by 7 percent year-over-year. Berkshire continues to generate higher revenue as it builds business volumes across its regional markets. GAAP EPS was $0.48 in the third quarter of 2014 and $0.46 in the prior quarter, reflecting the $0.02 per share quarterly benefit of a lower GAAP tax rate that resulted from non-core branch acquisition related costs in the first quarter.

THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (comparisons are to prior quarter):

The Vermont Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (GCEPD) has announced the first employer award recipients for the “Spirit of the ADA” Awards to commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The Vermont “Spirit of the ADA” Award is given to employers who reflect the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act in their employment practices. Successfully meeting any of the following criteria qualifies employers for eligibility to be nominated: