Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said Tuesday he will soon introduce legislation to lower prescription drug prices and hoped that President Donald Trump would support the effort. Sanders and Representative Elijah E Cummings (D-MD) are drafting legislation to significantly bring down drug prices in the United States. While five major drug manufacturers made more than $50 billion in profits in 2015, nearly 1 in 5 Americans could not afford the medicine they were prescribed at a time when Americans pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription medicine.

“It is beyond comprehension that while Americans are dying because they cannot afford the medications they need, the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the pharmaceutical industry collectively made $327 million in 2015,” Sanders said.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont Medical Center has opened a Genomic Medicine laboratory to expand its use of advanced genetic testing that doctors can use to develop treatments tailored to individual patients. By pinpointing genetic variations related to a patient’s disease or disease risk, genomic testing leads to a more accurate diagnosis which may allow providers to choose a therapy targeted at the underlying cause of a specific patient’s illness.

Since early 2016, patients of the UVM Health Network with solid cancers - such as lung, colon and melanoma - have benefitted from genomic testing, which is only available at a limited number of academic medical centers in the U.S. The new lab will allow testing of blood cancers, cardiovascular disease and neurological conditions, among other illnesses.

Highlights:

Vermont Business Magazine A bipartisan coalition of 71 members of the House of Representatives, including Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) sent a letter to President Donald Trump today urging him to include investments in rural broadband connectivity in his forthcoming infrastructure proposal. The lawmakers highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity in attracting and retaining businesses, communication between family and friends, timely responses to an emergency response, agricultural efficiency, and access to educational materials.

The letter was led by Welch, Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), and Bob Latta (R-OH). The bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus sent a similar letter today led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and John Boozman (R-AR).

Vermont Business Magazine Today, the House passed HR9, a resolution to commemorate the 44th anniversary of RoevWade and the 52nd anniversary of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, on a vote of 103-31.The resolution urges Congress and state legislatures to preserve the rights protected in Roe vWade and continue to ensure access to essential health care services for Vermonters. It also recognizes Vermont women’s right to access safe, legal abortions, as well as privacy, autonomy, and safety in their personal health decisions.

“We are committed to building a strong future for the next generation and protecting these rights for women and all Vermonters is imperative” said House Speaker Mitzi Johnson.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Monday announced a series of steps his Administration is taking to protect the rights of all Vermonters, following executive orders from President Trump relating to immigration and refugee resettlement. He said he is pursuing actions that protect the rights of Vermonters and is consulting with other government agencies, including the attorney general, to assess the constitutionality of the executive orders.

Vermont Business MagazineAARP today launched a comprehensive campaign to protect Medicare in the face of proposals by some in Congress that it says would hurt hardworking Vermonters who have paid into the program their entire working lives.Congressional proposals to change Medicare into a voucher system would dramatically increase health care costs and risks for both current and future retirees.Over the next few weeks, AARP staff and volunteers will meet with members of Congress to underscore that this proposal would put122,000 seniors’benefits at risk and threaten the guarantee of benefits for146,000 workers, ages 50-64, who are currently paying into the system.

“Older Vermontersdepend on Medicare for affordable healthcare,” said AARP State Director Greg Marchildon. “A voucher system would dramatically increase health care costs and risks for current and future retirees.It could mean many thousands of dollars out of their own pockets.

Vermont Business MagazineThe Annual Vermont Farm Show, a great Vermont tradition, returns to the Champlain Valley Expo Center January 31,February 1and 2. Now in its 87^thyear, the show celebrates the heritage of Vermont farming, while continuing to evolve and grow with our agricultural community. Packed with fun and educational events and displays, the show is sure to impress agricultural enthusiasts of all ages!

Farm Show 2016. Ag Agency photos.

This year’s show will feature more than 150 agricultural exhibits, ranging from tractors to livestock to cutting-edge equipment. For a full list of exhibitors and their respective booth numbers, visithttp://www.vtfarmshow.com/2017-exhibitors.html

by John McClaughry Governor Phil Scott’s budget address promised a balanced General Fund budget lower than last year’s. It reiterated his opposition to any new taxes and fees, and pledged to make the required annual required contributions to keep the two state retirement funds from slipping even further away from long-term solvency. Those features deservedly won applause.

When it came to education financing, however, the governor proposed what he called “incredibly strong measures” that vaulted him well into high-risk territory.

Scott says that the state must mandate “transformative changes” to “stabilize and control local school spending”. Before looking at the specifics, it’s worthwhile to recall what previous governors have done about this. (The quotes are from my commentaries at the time.)

Vermont Business MagazineThe American Lung Association’s“State of Tobacco Control” reporthas found that in 2016 the State of Vermont was a leader in the Northeast in implementing proven-effective policies that save lives, placing it among the top 6 states in the nation with the best overall report. The 15^thannual report grades states and the federal government on policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use. The report shows that most states and the federal government earned poor grades. Vermont was a relative bright spot in an otherwise dismal report, receiving only a failing grade in the Lung Association’s newest category, focused on age of sale legislation.

Vermont Business Magazine Keeping mothers and babies safe in the midst of the opioid crisis in northern New England is the goal of a new online toolkit being tested in eight regional hospitals.The new collaborative program also encourages smoking cessation among this patient population in year two of a three-year, $127,000 grant that Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Perinatal Addiction Treatment Program received from the March of Dimes in 2016.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Attorney General Donovan joined 16 other Attorneys General to stand up for individual freedoms and to protect the rights of all Vermonters and Americans. The full statement begins:“As the chief legal officers for over 130 million Americans and foreign residents of our states, we condemn President Trump's unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful Executive Order and will work together to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith."

by Annette Smith The definition of “Kafkaesque”: “Describing something that is horribly complicated for no reason, usually in reference to bureaucracy.” Neighbors of operating and proposed wind projects are watching in disbelief as they witness the Public Service Board (PSB) issue Orders affirming the rights of the wind industry while putting neighbors through expensive, time-consuming legal processes that tramples neighbors’ rights and provide no relief.