Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Attorney General and the Green Mountain Care Board received support last week in USSupreme Court litigation defending VHCURES, Vermont’s all-payer health care database. The federal government, eighteen States, and numerous public health organizations filed briefs that underscore the importance of Vermont’s and similar databases to improving health care nationwide. “These filings from the federal government and other States are powerful statements that bolster Vermont’s position at the Supreme Court,” Sorrell explained. “Far from being preempted by federal law, Vermont’s program is part of a federally supported national effort to improve health care through sound research and data-driven policies.”
VHCURES is an important repository of health care claims information that the State uses for research, public health, and policy purposes. In its filing with the U.S. Supreme Court last week, the federal government argued that Vermont’s collection and analysis of health care data “reflect the longstanding interest of States in promoting the health of their citizens.” And federal law does not preempt this “critically important area for the future of healthcare.”
A coalition of States led by New York also filed a brief, detailing eighteen States with similar database statutes. Research projects in other states are analyzing this data to, for example, identify unnecessary surgeries, improve cancer treatments, look for ways to reduce opioid dependence, and study tobacco cessation methods. The States’ brief explained that these databases “promote better health care,” support “evidence-based policymaking,” and improve transparency in health care costs.
National and regional public health organizations and consumer groups – including the American Medical Association, Vermont Medical Society, AARP, and the American Hospital Association – also filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Vermont’s position. And a group of leading public health researchers from Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, UVM, and other universities advised the Court that these “critical” comprehensive databases support research that directly benefits patients and improves the health care system. Green Mountain Care Board Chair Al Gobeille noted that these friend-of-the-court briefs from researchers and public health advocates “confirm that VHCURES plays a crucial role in our State’s ongoing efforts to improve our health care system. We need the best, most comprehensive data possible to inform health care policy and find ways to control costs while delivering better care to Vermonters.”
The case, Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., No. 14-181, will likely be heard by the Supreme Court in late fall and decided before the Supreme Court’s next term ends in June 2016. Filings in the case are postedhere.
Published: Sep 8, 2015