Current News
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by John McClaughry Vermonters have recently witnessed, once again, the annual battle over health insurance rate increases for individual and small business plans. It’s worth taking a long look at just what the state thinks it’s doing, and how it does it.
Families and small businesses purchase health insurance plans to protect themselves from the risk of expensive medical treatments. The State has a long list of requirements that the two surviving carriers serving this market - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP - must comply with to do business here. They include some 30 specific mandated benefits, prohibition of unfair business practices, minimum actuarial value ratios, community rating, guaranteed issue, and maintenance of reserves. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) added additional requirements.
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Vermont Business Magazine MVP Health Care today announced that beginning on January 1, 2020, its Medicare Advantage members in New York and Vermont will be eligible for unique support programs that will work to improve their overall health and well-being. At the start of the new year, MVP’s Medicare Advantage members will be eligible for free meal delivery after an inpatient hospital admission, free telemedicine visits, free exercise classes, and up to a $100 reimbursement for completing health and wellness activities.
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Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, the largest year-round disabled sports nonprofit organization in Vermont to offer daily, year-round sports and recreation for people with disabilities, is looking for energetic winter volunteer-instructors who have a dedicated passion for sports and who want to share that passion with others.
Winter volunteers will be trained with Vermont Adaptive trainers to help teach and lead the organization’s popular winter programs that “enable people with disabilities to get outside and enjoy all that Vermont has to offer,” said Tom Alcorn, senior program coordinator for the organization. Winter activities include Alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, indoor rock climbing, veterans retreats, wellness programs, and more.
Winter volunteers will be trained with Vermont Adaptive trainers to help teach and lead the organization’s popular winter programs that “enable people with disabilities to get outside and enjoy all that Vermont has to offer,” said Tom Alcorn, senior program coordinator for the organization. Winter activities include Alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, indoor rock climbing, veterans retreats, wellness programs, and more.
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Vermont Business Magazine Howard Center will present the 2019 Help is Here Award to Senator Patrick Leahy at its annual Help is Here Award Celebration on October 11. The award honors an individual whose contributions personify Howard Center’s mission and demonstrate a passion for those served by the organization. As a distinguished statesman, Senator Leahy’s over forty years of service in the US Senate has always focused on improving the lives of Vermonters, the cornerstone of Howard Center’s mission.
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Vermont Business Magazine One of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) Foundation’s most anticipated events of the year is scheduled for Saturday, December 7, 2019 at the Mount Snow Grand Summit Resort Hotel in West Dover, Vermont. The Jingle Bell reflects the giving spirit of the season and provides local businesses and community members the opportunity to demonstrate their support for SVHC in a fun and festive way. Highlights of the Jingle Bell include dinner, dancing, and a live auction featuring an exceptional selection of donated items.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announces grants totaling $305,929 for eight projects to benefit Vermont fruit, vegetable, and value-added producers and increase consumer access to locally produced food. These grants, funded through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), were awarded to seven agricultural organizations to undertake a range of technology development, research, education, marketing, and program-building projects. The grants will leverage an additional $203,468 in matching funds.
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Vermont Business Magazine The $31 million Phase I Putnam Block Redevelopment Project that received funding from over 17 different public and private funding sources in addition to over 20 local investors, broke ground officially on August 7. Earlier this summer, and shortly after the financial closing that took place on June 14, the construction manager, Breadloaf, commenced selective interior and exterior demolition. Derelict and add-on buildings were torn down to reveal historic original buildings.
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Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today an increase to the state’s minimum wage. Beginning January 1, 2020, the state’s minimum wage will increase $.18, from $10.78 to $10.96, as determined by the Department of Labor’s Economic & Labor Market Information Division.
The calculation for this increase, as well as for subsequent years, is determined by state statute, which calculates the rate of inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The recent increase of 1.7% to the CPI, applied to last year’s minimum wage, raised the rate by $0.18 per hour.
This adjustment also impacts the minimum wage of “tipped employees.” The Basic Tipped Wage Rate for service or tipped employees equals 50% of the full minimum wage or $5.48 per hour starting January 1, 2020. The minimum wage will continue to increase each year with inflation as calculated by the Department of Labor.
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Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and Vermont and Quebec leadership were at the Canadian border today for the official opening of the East Richford-Sutton International Bridge after completion of a joint Vermont-Quebec project to rehabilitate the historic truss bridge.
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Vermont Business Magazine Four months after a major landslide significantly impacted access to a popular recreation area in Mount Mansfield State Forest, Cotton Brook Road in Waterbury has reopened. While initial assessments of the landslide area have determined that the road can be opened for public recreation, officials with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation (FPR) caution that continued observation and a new management strategy will be necessary to ensure public safety.
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Vermont Business Magazine Killington Resort began blowing snow Friday night on Rime and the headwall of Superstar with plans to continue as temperatures allow. It’s official; The Beast is awake! The HomeLight Killington Cup returns to Vermont November 29-December 1, featuring the best female alpine skiers in the world racing on Killington’s world-class snow, including Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin.
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Vermont Business Magazine Weekly unemployment numbers edged up last week, but remained under 300 claims. Summer typically brings very low claim levels and these have slipped into fall. Initial claims for the week of September 28, 2019 totaled 249, up 13 from last week and 15 fewer than they were at this time last year.
Altogether 2,069 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 34 from a week ago, and 302 fewer than a year ago.
Nationwide, according to the US Labor Department for the week ending September 28, initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose modestly 4,000 to 219,000. This is higher than economists' expectations. The 4-week moving average held at 212,500. After a long decline from the Great Recession in 2009, claims have now generally leveled off over the past year.