by Devon Green, Sr. Vice President of Policy & Strategy, VAHHS
The 2025-2026 biennium ended with the fall of a gavel on Friday evening. With the close of those (very) heavy State House doors, a different kind of work begins. Legislators will hit the campaign trails. We here at VAHHS will be working with our members to implement the bills that have passed and prepare policy for next session. In the meantime, these were the final health-related bills to make it over the finish line:
Reference-Based Pricing: In a vote along party lines, the Senate agreed to the House-passed version of S.190. This bill has the Green Mountain Care Board directing any savings from the hospital budget process to Qualified Health Plans for small businesses and individuals and VEHI plans for teachers. The next stop for the bill is the governor’s desk.
Data Privacy: The House and Senate passed S.71, a comprehensive data privacy bill. The bill does not exempt non-profits but does exempt HIPAA-covered entities and their business associates. It does not include a private right of action and will go into effect in January of 2028.
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