Current News

Vermont Business Magazine In the Senate Finance Committee today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) opposed advancing Dr. Mehmet Oz’s nomination to be the next Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provides health care to over 100 million Americans.  Earlier this month in the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Welch pressed Dr. Oz about how the Trump Administration plans to eliminate rip-offs for patients and excessive pricing in private equity and Medicare Advantage to lower prescription drug prices. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State Police Trooper Michelle Archer has been named a Carnegie Hero for her lifesaving rescue of a girl who plunged through thin ice covering a pond in December 2023. Trooper Archer is one of 17 individuals in the United States and Canada to receive a Carnegie Medal for Heroism after they “risked death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others,” the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission announced this week. The award recognizes Trooper Archer’s heroism and selflessness in saving an 8-year-old girl who fell into frigid water Dec. 17, 2023, in Cambridge. Trooper Archer was on patrol nearby and arrived on scene less than five minutes after a 911 call. She grabbed a department-issued throw rope and flotation device, removed her duty belt, entered the near-freezing pond and swam to the girl.

Vermont Business Magazine Patients experiencing the effects of a wide-reaching affordability crisis in the region will benefit from a plan submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) proposing a multi-year effort to address health care costs and patient access. The plan is the result of informal conversations between University of Vermont Health Network’s leadership team, members of the health system’s Board of Trustees, and GMCB members. The main goals are to reduce expenses and limit growth of hospital costs, support other key health care providers, including non-hospital primary care, and reaffirm UVM Health Network’s commitment to providing high-quality, sustainable care to the communities it serves in Vermont and northern New York.

Vermont Business Magazine Common Good Vermont has created and is continually updating a webpage, Federal Actions Impacting Nonprofits: Resources & Updates, to help nonprofits navigate and respond to federal actions affecting Vermonters. Common Good Vermont, the only statewide program dedicated to uniting, strengthening, and advocating for Vermont’s nonprofit sector, is providing resources and guidance during this uncertain time, including information on executive orders, the federal funding pause, upcoming events, immigration actions, and more. 

Vermont Business Magazine Evernorth closed Housing New England, Fund VI on March 19, 2025. This fund will provide equity to finance affordable housing in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. 16 investors committed a total of $64,250,000 in equity making Housing New England, Fund VI (HNE Fund VI) a significant financial resource for the region’s critical affordable housing needs. HNE Fund VI’s investors include community, regional and national banks as well as one of the nation’s largest mortgage banking organizations. Evernorth raises equity by syndicating federal Low-Income Housing and Historic tax credits as well as various state, historic, and affordable housing credits. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, State Treasurer Mike Pieciak joined legislative leaders at a press conference to thank the Senate for their unanimous approval of Senate Bill 27, a proposal to eliminate $100 million in medical debt using a one-time investment of $1 million—all without raising taxes or fees. The bill also prevents health care providers from reporting medical debt to credit-reporting agencies, protecting Vermonters’ credit scores in the future. Under the Treasurer’s proposal, the State would partner with a nonprofit to purchase medical debt from providers at pennies on the dollar of its original cost. Once acquired, the debt would be completely forgiven and any negative impacts to the debtor’s credit report would be removed. 

Vermont Business Magazine Capstone Community Action’s Fuel Your Neighbors campaign, presented by EastRise Credit Union, raised $325,000 to support emergency food and heating assistance for Central Vermonters. This frigid winter challenged many Vermont households already unable to meet their basic needs with the increased cost of heat and food. Capstone Community Action (Capstone) was able to provide 491 families with heating assistance, distributing over $260,000 in funds this winter alone. Capstone also had 1,580 families visit the food shelf between October 1, 2024 and March 2025. With no public funding for Capstone’s Food Shelf, the Fuel Your Neighbors campaign is critical to keeping the food shelf stocked to meet the community’s demonstrated need.  

Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College and Anthropic, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) safety and research, today announced a strategic collaboration to leverage Claude, Anthropic's state-of-the-art assistant, to advance AI in higher education and workforce development. This collaboration will support classroom innovations so Champlain College students develop the AI skills they need to thrive in the workforce.

Vermont Business Magazine Gifford welcomed community ambassadors to its campus for its traditional Annual Meeting. The last year saw continued struggles in the healthcare industry, Gifford’s new President and CEO, Michael Costa provided his vision for Gifford’s future at the medical center’s 120^th Annual Meeting on March 20, 2025. Gifford’s been providing care to the community for over 100 years flexing and changing to meet the evolving needs of the community. As Costa noted, “Gifford did not end up as a Federally Qualified Health Center, with an independent living facility, the Menig Nursing Home, a critical access hospital and a pioneer in birthing care because that was the goal 100 years ago. Gifford’s leaders kept on moving and changing to meet the community need.”

Vermont Business Magazine First Children’s Finance VT has announced the latest recipients of the Make Way for Kids (MWFK) Infant/Toddler Capacity Building Grants. These grants support Vermont’s early childhood entrepreneurs in addressing the state’s critical need for high-quality, affordable child care. Last year, Make Way for Kids grants supported the creation of more than 750 child care slots and 225 new jobs across Vermont. Among the newest grantees are Sabrina Weber Family Child Care in Bennington and The Balancing Act Enrichment Center in Essex. Both projects will expand access to early childhood education, with a focus on infants and toddlers, the age group facing the most significant shortage of available child care slots in the state.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remain low. Hospitalizations remain just under 5 after a spike in January. Likewise wastewater testing indicates that virus levels fell steeply also after a spike, especially in Montpelier, but also at most test sites. They have now leveled off at low levels, as have many other indicators. The Vermont pandemic death total stands at 1,283 as of March 15, 2025, an increase of 1 from the previous week (the most recent data available from the CDC). 

Vermont Business Magazine As warmer weather and peeping baby chicks mark the springtime return of migrating wild birds and backyard flocks, state health and agriculture officials are encouraging people to keep themselves and their feathered friends healthy. Domestic poultry kept for producing eggs or meat can carry harmful bacteria and viruses, including Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and avian influenza (bird flu), that can make people sick. Children younger than 5 years old, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to get severe illness from the germs poultry can carry. Knowing how to protect your birds can keep you and your family safer from these health risks.