Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) today released financial performance information for the state’s not-for-profit hospitals as part of their annual budget review process. From 2016 to 2017, Vermont’s hospitals contained growth in net patient revenue to just 2.8 percent, significantly lower than annual increases of nearly 9 percent a decade ago. Net patient revenue targets are set by the GMCB each year and account for revenue hospitals collect from delivery of patient care before accounting for any expenses.

Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems said in a statement that this historically low budget growth is the result of disciplined budgeting, a focus on operational efficiencies and efforts to address cost drivers such as chronic disease, misuse of emergency services and extended stays.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) Wednesday announced that Vermont Rural Ventures will receive $60 million in federal tax credits to spur economic development projects throughout the state. Congress established the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program in 2000 to spur private investment in economic development projects in communities with high poverty and high unemployment. Under the New Markets program, investors receive a credit against their federal income taxes in exchange for making equity investments in job-creating development projects.

Leahy, Sanders and Welch noted that this is the largest tax credit award ever received by Vermont Rural Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Housing Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), a national leader in efforts to increase affordable housing, welcomed a decision by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt to continue funding for the National Housing Trust Fund – which provides hundreds of millions of dollars each year to expand affordable rental housing nationwide. Sanders said he was cautiously optimistic that Vermont will again receive $3 million this year.

For each of the past two years, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) received $3 million from the Housing Trust Fund to help provide decent, safe and affordable housing for extremely low-income families here in Vermont. VHCB has used those funds to finance critically important projects in Randolph, Rutland, Brattleboro, Poultney, Burlington, Putney and Marshfield.

by Jennifer Cheeseman Day, US Census Bureau As we celebrate the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, we take a bird’s-eye view of population statistics of the 31 states US athletes call home.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont legislators, State House staff, lobbyists, and the Scott Administration are being challenged to a dose of healthy competition. The Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS) has teamed up with Rise VT to give lawmakers and elected officials a hands-on experience of what is happening at hospitals around the state where greater investments in primary prevention and wellness and a focus on population health are helping more Vermonters get and stay healthy.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott signed a proclamation Wednesday, declaring February 14 as Recovery Day in Vermont. This designation recognizes the importance of substance use disorder recovery programs, and their critical role in addressing the opioid epidemic. “The opioid crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing Vermont today,” said Scott. “Thanks to organizations like Vermont Association for Mental Health and Recovery, along with the work of many others in state and local government, the Legislature, and our communities, Vermont has emerged as a national leader on this issue.”

Vermont Business Magazine Castleton University graduate students will see a reduction in price beginning this summer. Castleton will move to offer all graduate programs at the same rate, regardless of the student’s residency or the program’s delivery model, the university announced today. “Aligning our tuition to one lower rate for our graduate students allows us to serve a broader range of students pursuing master’s degrees,” President Karen M. Scolforo said. “We know that students who earn advanced degrees are more likely to find a job, have greater career flexibility, and higher earning potential than if they had chosen not to continue their education. By making the pursuit of a master’s degree at Castleton more affordable, we are making a strong commitment to the future workforce of our region and beyond.”

by Sarah Buxton and Dustin Degree In April 2009, there were 361,200 people in Vermont’s labor force – an all-time high. Today we have 15,540 fewer workers. If nothing changes, in about 7 years there could be one working Vermonter for each person who is not in the labor force. If you exclude the Burlington area, we’re about four years away from this reality.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Retreat’s inpatient unit treatment programming known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been adopted by The Joint Commission as a Leading Practice for Hospital and Behavioral Health Programs. Submissions to the Joint Commission’s Leading Practice Library undergo rigorous clinical review. According to Joint Commission officials, the Retreat’s ACT programming was accepted because “it supports quality and safety, and is felt to be of benefit to other organizations.”

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pass-through funds for Water Quality Management Planning. Funding will allow TRORC and other Regional Planning Commissions to conduct data collection, prepare stormwater master plans, conduct outreach, and work with municipalities on possible support for reclassification of surface waters, wetlands, and Outstanding Resource Waters.

All efforts lead to more informed and effective basin plans. These basin plans document surface water quality, identify threats and impairments, and identify projects to maintain and improve water quality. Regional Planning Commissions have been key partners in water quality efforts with the State, watershed groups, conservation districts, and municipalities.

Vermont Business Magazine Checks are being mailed to Provigil consumers in connection with the settlement between Vermont and 47 other states, and drug company Cephalon and affiliated companies (now part of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries). In August 2016, state attorneys announced the settlement. The settlement resolved allegations that the companies engaged in unlawful "pay-for-delay" anticompetitive conduct involving the patent exclusivity for Provigil. The settlement included $35 million to compensate eligible consumers who may have been harmed by the alleged conduct.

Provigil consumers who purchased Provigil during the time covered by the settlement were provided with notice and an opportunity to participate in, object to, or opt out of the settlement. In order to participate, consumers were required to submit written claims regarding their Provigil purchases.

Vermont Business Magazine The Board of Directors of Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc (VITL) announced today that Michael K Smith will become Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of VITL on February 20, 2018, following the end-of-year retirement of John Evans, who lead VITL for five years and helped create Vermont’s health information highway through VITL’s online patient medical records portal known as VITL Access. Smith announced last Thursday that he was stepping down from Open Mike, a radio talk show on WDEV. Smith also wrote opinion columns for VTDigger and Vermont Business Magazine.