By Dara Torre, D-Moretown
Legislative homestretch – health care urgency and hitting an impasse on education
On Monday, May 19, Governor Scott signed the yield bill (H.491), which raises the revenue needed to cover the state's K-12 school budgets next year. We kept the average property tax increase to 1% by using a significant amount of one-time money that we're unlikely to have at our disposal next year. This sets us up for a difficult school budgeting session next year, as the reality sets in on just how long it will take to responsibly achieve the scale and sustainability measures now under consideration in H.454, our sprawling education transformation bill.
The overall transformation timeline and who gets to be at the table are two major points of difference between the Senate and House approaches. The full Senate is expected to consider and vote on H.454 this week, with amendments likely and a committee of conference ahead. Representative Candice White and I hosted a virtual discussion on the education bill this past Tuesday and have made the recording available on our websites (daratorrevt.com, candicewhite4vt.com), along with details on proposed changes. We've got to get this right, so now is the time to weigh in with your concerns and priorities; please be in touch with us as well as our senators and Governor Scott. I'm grateful for the good input and support received so far as we navigate this complex and critical work.
So much of our success with managing education costs rests on how quickly and effectively we can fortify and contain costs in our struggling health care system and get more housing built. Without meaningful health care competition in our small state, we must rely on effective regulation to protect consumer interests. We're facing catastrophic increases in the costs of commercial insurance rates from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. H.482 is a health care reform bill that responds to the looming insolvency of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont by expanding the regulatory authority of the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) to adjust hospital rates and reimbursement for any hospital that fails to meet its budget target, and compels the use of an independent monitor should a hospital materially misrepresent information to the GMCB or be materially noncompliant with its budget.
This week, the House is voting on S.126, which will jumpstart some urgent reforms to stabilize our health system by increasing state and hospital accountability and adding incentives for innovation. It funds the Agency of Human Services to develop a statewide strategic plan (due in 2027) that identifies where resources exist now and where they're needed, and funds three new positions for the Green Mountain Care Board to implement reference-based pricing starting in hospital fiscal year 2027. Reference-based pricing has been identified as a key strategy for managing costs by establishing maximum amounts of reimbursement from commercial insurance for hospital services, with pricing based on a benchmark like Medicare. The bill also calls for a statewide electronics health record system and includes $2 million for UVM Health Network (UVMHN) to distribute for telehealth throughout the state. Importantly for our community, Section 6 of the bill expands GMCB's authority beyond hospitals to add oversight of health networks like UVMHN that include smaller practices. This oversight would ensure networks are operating in accordance with the state's overall health care delivery goals, like ensuring access to primary care.
Representative White and I hosted a recent brainstorm with local health providers to discuss next steps for the Mad River Valley Health Care Center after the UVMHN practice departs in October. Diligent members of the health center board have been grappling with a lack of access to important financial data from UVMHN that is critical for planning how to structure and fund a successor practice in the space. Discussion included insights from a broad array of health partners for creative ways to ensure we meet our health needs as health care delivery in the state undergoes major changes.
There's much more to report on housing progress and other issues, and I look forward to convening an in-person debrief and discussion of this challenging session next month. Details on the meeting timing and location as well as an end-of-session report will be coming soon. Be well and please stay in touch –
