Vermont Business Magazine Health care organizations representing over 3,000 physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals have called on Gov. Phil Scott and leaders at the Agency of Human Services to increase funding for prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care, so that reimbursement rates more adequately cover the true cost of these services.
In many rural counties in Vermont, most births are covered by Medicaid. But Vermont Medicaid reimbursement rates for labor and delivery services are substantially lower than rates paid by nearby states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and below the payment rates set by the federal Medicare program.
In a letter sent today, Vermont clinicians insist that the Scott administration increase Medicaid payments for labor and delivery to align with what the state already pays for other primary care services. The Department of Vermont Health Access can make these changes immediately.
Without changes to the financing of obstetric care, researchers and clinicians warn that labor and delivery units will continue to close.
“I am very worried that we are going to have more closures in our state in the coming years,” says Lauren MacAfee, M.D., chair of the Vermont section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and President-Elect of the Vermont Medical Society.
“At a time when young people are saying they don't see a future for themselves in Vermont, not having a safe place to give birth close to home will only perpetuate this problem,” adds Jessa Barnard, the executive director of the Vermont Medical Society, referencing a recent UNH survey.
With the potential closure of the birthing center at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Scott administration has pointed to other hospitals in the region as alternatives to care. But these providers are not immune to the same staffing shortages and revenue shortfalls that impact Vermont hospitals. And already, many families in southern Vermont live more than a 30-minute drive from obstetrical care.
“Relying on obstetric services across state lines is not something we should be doing for Vermonters,” MacAfee says.
“We should be able to guarantee access to safe maternity care in our state.”
The attached letter is from the Vermont Medical Society, the Vermont Chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Vermont Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Vermont Nurse Practitioners Association, and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
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Vermont Business Magazine