Current News

Vermont Business Magazine For the seventh consecutive year, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group® has been recognized as one of the top 50 Property and Casualty insurers in the United States by Ward Group, one of the industry’s most respected benchmarking organizations. Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, is the leading provider of operational and compensation benchmarking and best practices services for insurance companies. Every year Ward Group identifies the industry’s top insurance companies through a comprehensive financial analysis of over 3,000 property and casualty insurers situated in the United States. The Ward’s 50® recognizes safety, consistency and superior financial performance.

Vermont Business Magazine The US Small Business Administration announced today certain Private NonProfit (PNP) organizations that do not provide critical services of a governmental nature may be eligible to apply for low-interest rate disaster loans. These loans are available following a Presidential disaster declaration for Public Assistance resulting from damages caused by a severe storm and flooding on June 9, 2015.

PNPs located in Addison and Chittenden counties in Vermont are eligible to apply to SBA. Examples of eligible non-critical PNP organizations include, but are not limited to, food kitchens, homeless shelters, museums, libraries, community centers, schools and colleges.

Vermont Business Magazine Going against the recommendation of the Vermont Department of Public Service and the request of Vermont Gas System, the Vermont Public Service board in an order filed today, has fined VGS $100,000 for waiting six months to report cost increases for its Addison pipeline project. The fine amount was recommended by the Conservation Law Foundation. The PSB ruled that it must be paid within 30 days. The department, which recommended a $35,000 fine, acts the the public advocate before the board. The board is the regulator.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Public Service Department (PSD) announced today it has reached agreements with Green Mountain Power (GMP) which will result in a net bill decrease for GMP customers of .76% for the year beginning October 1, 2015. This is on top of the 2.46 percent decrease for GMP customers over the past year. In a separate agreement with GMP and AARP, the Department is advocating for a return of Electric Assistance Program (EAP) fund balances to ratepayers and a lowering of the EAP customer charge going forward.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont’s 8.4 percent rate increase request for their 2016 Vermont Health Connect health insurance plans (now reduced to 7.2 percent), the Healthcare is a Human Right campaign released an opposing statement (see below.) Supporters of the campaign stated their case in Montpelier Wednesday by calling on the Green Mountain Care Board to reject the rate hikes and resume its role in guiding Vermont to a universal, publicly financed healthcare system. MVP Health Care has requested an annual rate increase of 3.0 percent. The Green Mountain Care Board will decide on the rate requests by August 13.

BCBSVT in its filing said the rate increase would be 5.3 percent if not for Affordable Care Act mandates. It said the rest of the increase essentially is to cover the expected increase of health care costs, plus 1 percent to maintain its required reserve fund.

by Timothy McQuiston Vermont Business Magazine According to a national industry analyst, 2015’s second half represents a strong expectation, in Vermont and across the country, that motorists will spend even less on gasoline this year than they did in 2014. GasBuddy experts say that before Christmas, as many as 20 states could have average gas prices below $2 per gallon as the national average for December slips to $1.98. Vermont is not one of those states expected to fall under $2. However, at an average price $2.65 today, Vermont is a penny lower than the US average. Vermont gasoline prices have dropped 5 cents from last month and just over a dollar from the same time last year.

Vermont Business Magazine Communities in Addison and Chittenden counties will begin the application process for receiving federal assistance to help recover from severe storms and flooding on June 9th. President Barack Obama signed a major disaster declaration for those counties earlier this week. The Public Assistance declaration allows communities in those counties to apply for federal reimbursement for 75% of response and recovery costs associated with that storm.

The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will host two mandatory applicants' briefings next week. The briefings will outline the requirements for receiving federal awards and maximizing eligibility of repairs. All towns seeking federal reimbursement for costs associated with the June 9 storm should have a representative at one of these briefings. The briefing schedule is:

Vermont Business Magazine The employees of The New School of Montpelier (NSM) in Vermont have purchased the school from its founder and will be operating it as the state’s largest worker cooperative. Founded in 2005 by Susan Kimmerly, the NSM serves students ages 6 – 22 with intensive disabilities; primarily children and young adults with autism, cognitive disabilities, and challenging behaviors, often related to trauma. The NSM provides a safe and encouraging environment for students to form relationships, develop trust, gain life skills and the social competencies necessary to become successful learners and contributing members of their communities.

Vermont Business Magazine Gloria Relation, age 70, of Williamstown, Vermont, and Jamie LaFountain, age 27, of East Montpelier, Vermont, were each arraigned on July 30, 2015, in Vermont Superior Court for Washington County on one felony count of Medicaid fraud. Additionally, Chris Relation, age 43, of Barre, Vermont, was arraigned on one felony count each of Medicaid Fraud, False Pretenses, and Identity Theft. The Court imposed conditions of release governing the parties’ conduct while the case is pending.

Vermont Business Magazine. Addressing a rally outside the Capitol to mark the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that he will introduce legislation to provide Medicare-for-all health insurance.

“We need to expand Medicare to cover every man, woman and child as a single-payer national health care program,” Sanders told a rally held by National Nurses United in a park near the Capitol.

Providing health insurance for everyone in the United States would result in better care, improved access and lower costs by eliminating the middle-man role played by insurance companies that now rake in billions of dollars in profits. Sanders’ bill, which he said he will soon introduce in the Senate, would set federal guidelines and strong minimum standards for states to administer single-payer health care programs.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General’s Office is warning about an imposter scam targeting Vermont businesses. Since February four Vermont businesses have reported to the Attorney General’s Office that they received fraudulent emails purporting to be company representatives, requesting wire transfers of tens of thousands of dollars. The reports involve fraudulent communications that are not associated with the businesses in question. However, the communications may appear legitimate because the scammers replicate information found on the company’s website.

The Branches of Hope cancer patient fund at Central Vermont Medical Center was formally presented $15,000 on Wednesday from the Do Good Fest and the National Life Group Foundation. The money represents proceeds from this year’s Do Good Fest music festival, as well as a matching grant by the National Life Foundation.

“The Do Good Fest is just one of the many ways National Life tries to make our community a better place to live,” said National Life President and CEO Mehran Assadi. “We have a long association with Central Vermont Medical Center. We’re especially proud that we’re able to help patients directly through the Do Good Fest.