by Devon Green, VP of Government Relations, Vermont Association of Hospitals & Health Systems
Last week, one of the best Montpelier traditions endured—the Montpelier Valentine Phantom struck again—and not even the State House was immune to all the love. Amidst all the hearts and snow, here’s what went on at the legislature last week:
Hospital and Health Network Audits: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard testimony on hospital financial measurements and audits. Dr. Nancy Kane, who has over 40 years of experience as a health care consultant on financial and strategic issues and was a professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, testified that a few financial metrics can capture the picture of a health care system and that audited financials are already widely available. What is needed now is the financial literacy to understand the data. The Office of the Vermont State Auditor testified that the UVM Health Network should be under the Green Mountain Care Board’s authority and that the Auditor’s Office should work with the Green Mountain Care Board.
Certificate of Need (CON): The Health Care Advocate proposed in the House Health Care Committee that there be multiple tracks for the CON process—one tier for mid-range projects with limited review and another tier for larger projects with stricter timelines. The Green Mountain Surgery Center and Rutland Regional Medical Center presented examples of the CON process delaying construction and increasing costs.
Freestanding Birth Centers Licensure: VAHHS testified on S.18 in the Senate Health and Welfare. VAHHS supports the licensure of freestanding birth centers and increasing patient choice for birthing services. However, due to Vermont’s lowest in the nation birth rate and the fragile financial footing of most hospitals’ birthing units—two births a month could mean a 10% reduction for a mid-sized hospital—VAHHS cannot support exempting freestanding birth centers from the Certificate of Need process unless all birthing services are made sustainable and offered equitably, including increasing Medicaid rates for birthing services and ensuring patients with Medicaid have equal access to birthing centers.
Protected Health Services: VAHHS testified on S. 28, which expands consumer protections previously targeted at crisis pregnancy centers to all health care services. The bill also expands the definition of unprofessional conduct. While VAHHS supports the consumer protection expansion, it is working with the Office of Professional Regulation and the Board of Medical Practice to refine the unprofessional conduct language. VAHHS also proposed exempting health care licensee e-mails and phone numbers from the Public Records Act to avoid unnecessary harassment of providers.
Workplace Violence Prevention: Several nurse associations presented their proposal to support hospitals in pursuing workplace violence prevention measures, including developing a security plan for risk assessment, de-escalation and training, and carve-outs in the Certificate of Need and hospital budget process for workplace violence initiatives. VAHHS supports this proposal.
Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) Budget: Vermont’s Medicaid department, DVHA, presented the following on its FY26 budget:
- $46 million increase to Medicaid, not driven by increased utilization, but by higher cost per case than assumed when building the budget
- $4.3 million to the Brattleboro Retreat for funding the psychiatric residential treatment facility
- $7.3 million in Graduate Medical Education payments to support residency training
- $10.8 million in one-time funding to support the Blueprint for Health and Support and Services at Home (SASH) during the transition from the All-Payer Model to the AHEAD model.
Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL): VITL presented to the House Health Care Committee on its operations and role in ensuring a protected and efficient exchange of date between providers.
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