[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6272462,"mediaKeyId","3027833-98ca71184c9d07ce98e94fd58beac94a","parentId",3027833,"title","Committee reviews S.27: $1 million appropriation to contract with nonprofit to buy down medical debt; state tax offices say debt abolition likely non‑taxable","audioSeconds",2903,"startMs",10000,"endMs",2913000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3027833-98ca71184c9d07ce98e94fd58beac94a&start=10&end=2913","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3027833-98ca71184c9d07ce98e94fd58beac94a/thumbnail_10000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6272462/Vermont/Committee-reviews-S27-1-million-appropriation-to-contract-with-nonprofit-to-buy-down-medical-debt-state-tax-offices-say-debt-abolition-likely-nontaxable","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6272462-43fe4daa5ded6cfb91e5762ec550aeac/orig.mp4?Expires=1773641003&Signature=OmRMyLGPxu0bzarCG0P~IKNFxVv1YAnXz0nr79zFkCZ-YEjcC~rtzXxhBHJgIM7xl~Qmw1PVtAljPpxq2qeFgDrK5lHOCyC0Gqxbm5NOcN361~oaEjqN7WgQENvyZRvl2JdNMXgOxuWWXsrPAno3hmMMjUNrGi3EoCoJP9ZwfcoSRZkPTVEntCnarorYPKKkSBSCuo~KaZx384MXEfGedfH5bgeVFt~LrZ0Mg8s00eY3zPcvTUpxWRxin5RQV4U2so4vUmx0hB-wExJnz57LVtDCa19Q20eQv-3no3RvjTLpTvyBBSF4dyswuDUeLM2v2V0rDzwfwR68qoTbYh1tBw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-04-16T08:02:02Z","article","At a Ways & Means committee meeting, office and committee staff outlined S.27, which would appropriate $1,000,000 from the general fund to the State Treasurer to contract with a tax‑exempt nonprofit to purchase and abolish qualifying medical debt for Vermont residents.

Jen Carby, legislative counsel with the Office of Legislative Council, summarized the bill’s principal mechanics: the treasurer would contract with a 501(c)(3) that would purchase medical accounts from health‑care providers at fair market value and abolish the indebtedness, notify affected individuals of the amount forgiven and the provider from whom the debt was purchased, and coordinate with providers to remove adverse information from consumer credit reports. The bill also adds a prohibition on credit reporting of medical debt and creates narrow exceptions to permit a tax‑exempt nonprofit to pull credit for eligibility screening.

Becky Wasserman of the Office of the State Treasurer described the operational model: “It is asking that the treasurer's office has appropriated $1,000,000 to contract with a third party, a nonprofit that will then enter into arrangements with hospitals and providers around the state, to use to buy down medical debt. And so, typically that is about, you know, a penny on the dollar for the medical debt.” She said the nonprofit would receive patient files from participating providers, determine eligibility under the bill’s criteria, buy eligible accounts from the provider, and notify patients that their debt had been abolished.

Rebecca (Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Taxes) told the committee the Department’s preliminary read aligns with the treasurer’s: “Our understanding is that there's no tax consequences for the consumer that gets their debt abolished. … Because this is going through a nonprofit who's a disinterested party, there are IRS rules that indicate that that sort of charitable use of funds to pay off debt would … be considered a gift and would not be taxable.” She added a routine caveat that the Department tries to avoid definitive interpretations of federal tax law.

Committee members pressed staff on mechanics and scope. Carby and Wasserman said eligibility would be automatic on the back end (patients would not need to apply): the nonprofit and provider would exchange account information and the nonprofit would assess income and other criteria. Carby and other staff noted the bill requires the treasurer to ensure the contractor will abolish the debt “with no cost or tax consequences for the debtor” and to coordinate removal of adverse credit reporting.

Carby summarized eligibility set in the draft: a debtor must be a Vermont resident and either have household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level for household size or owe medical debt equal to 5% or more of household income; the patient account must still show an outstanding balance after the provider’s routine collection efforts. The bill also requires hospitals and certain large health care facilities to participate only if they agree to sell their medical debt to the nonprofit for the purpose of abolition, and it prevents providers and medical debt collectors from reporting medical debt to credit reporting agencies.

Committee members asked about where the $1,000,000 comes from. Staff said the appropriation is drawn from a previously appropriated pot held by the Treasurer’s Office (a $20,000,000 appropriation from an earlier budget, a portion of which had not been used and had been partially reallocated). Wasserman and other staff emphasized the appropriation is reimbursement‑based: the state would not pay the nonprofit in advance and would only reimburse after contracted purchases and abolitions are completed.

Several members asked about the nonprofit’s fee and the program’s administrative costs. Wasserman said she did not want to misstate contract details but noted publicly reported information: Undue Medical Debt (the organization the staff said has done this work elsewhere) follows federal guidance and has cited an indirect rate of about 15% when receiving government funding. She also said philanthropic donors supply significant funding for the nonprofit’s work; “Mackenzie Scott, I believe, gave them about $80,000,000, over the last few years to fund these efforts,” she said.

Members raised a separate policy concern about potential federal scrutiny of nonprofit partners. Rebecca (Deputy Commissioner) said she was not aware of the specific federal matters in the news and could not advise on federal enforcement risk; Wasserman said she was not currently able to identify a programmatic risk to the state and repeated that the bill is written so the contract is contingent on the contractor structuring purchases so that abolition would not create tax consequences for recipients.

Committee staff said the bill also would bar credit reporting agencies from maintaining information about medical debt and would create a limited exception permitting a 501(c)(3) to access a consumer’s credit report for eligibility screening for medical debt abolition; the bill exempts “large health care facilities” (hospitals, hospital outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgical centers) from that exception so hospitals could not use the exemption to pull consumer credit in place of current patient‑financial‑assistance rules.

The committee did not vote on S.27 at the hearing. Staff said the group would take additional time to review details and that the committee expected to resume consideration at a later date.

Ending

Committee staff and witnesses said they will follow up with written clarifications about administrative fees and contract terms. The treasurer’s office emphasized the appropriation is reimbursement‑based (no prepayment), and legislative counsel said language in the bill will be adjusted if necessary to track changes in the budget pot from which the $1,000,000 is drawn.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Ways and Means 2025-04-15 1PM","oneSentenceSummary","At a Ways & Means committee meeting, staff described S.27, a bill that would appropriate $1,000,000 to the State Treasurer to contract with a 501(c)(3) to purchase and abolish qualifying medical debt for Vermont residents and to bar credit reporting of medical debt.","taxTitle","Ways & Means, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",35157,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6272456,"Joint Fiscal Office revenue update: general fund above forecast but multiple economic risks flagged — tariffs, consumer confidence, tourism and federal tax/Med‑",4645,2915000,7560000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3027833-98ca71184c9d07ce98e94fd58beac94a&start=2915&end=7560","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3027833-98ca71184c9d07ce98e94fd58beac94a/thumbnail_2915000.jpg","/articles/6272456/Vermont/Joint-Fiscal-Office-revenue-update-general-fund-above-forecast-but-multiple-economic-risks-flagged-tariffs-consumer-confidence-tourism-and-federal-taxMed","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6272456-da1fd0b4b7f14b5308cccf778e18f5d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1773641003&Signature=dteETbuh4hGwGuVhIkpNQtmMmhawre2t7XZz~4bx1DLkHUTDl23m-QEkVa5pLfT0ELKsVXuTuOx6hMDUKp5K0cP8UVTFibc7qklKjFfbOshqNeJ8hMV5M3h9YyRLCw4hMZg9y7J2Wb6VliqJGOJA7ZjX1bXGqKjX3C8330DOacXmmfUQLEixRhXaDhsOit9vdqOAjOHLGALLpwoqnIl63kYuVmtEyuTPxBSPaZd2JmAl0bqeziaWkPsbFkK05Ha8G8OsB92dVGQ3VcVSFKvH82ol4X-JIQZXAkn8QiLOSJ6jgK5HMwfAjv7J1NePP59CmFkkM-SsGjB8mcP12AP~Bg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Patrick Titterton of the Joint Fiscal Office provided a state revenue update, reporting where major funds stood through March and outlining near‑term risks that could affect revenues.

Titterton reported that through March the general fund had collected “about a little under $1,700,000,000,” tracking roughly 2.3% above the consensus forecast, which translates to nearly $40 million above forecast so far for the fiscal year. He said the Education Fund non‑property revenues were roughly on target and the Transportation Fund lagged slightly, about 1% below forecast in dollar terms. Personal income and corporate income tax collections accounted for much of the general‑fund overage.

Titterton spent the bulk of his time describing macroeconomic and policy developments that could affect those collections going forward. He flagged a set of federal tariff announcements and postponements and described how tariffs can raise costs for businesses and consumers, and create planning uncertainty that can reduce investment and hiring. He said imports critical to construction — notably Canadian softwood lumber and other building materials — face tariffs that could increase the cost of building and therefore affect property transfer tax receipts and construction activity.

He also highlighted a sharp decline in a consumer confidence index: “At the beginning of the year, the index was at 71.7 … as of this month we’ve gone down … to 50.8,” he said, adding that the recent level is the second‑lowest on the series since the 1950s. Titterton said lower confidence and higher financing costs can reduce discretionary spending that drives meals and rooms and sales and use tax collections.

Titterton reviewed credit‑market signals: higher long‑term Treasury yields can translate into higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and business financing. He noted rising yields and market volatility have coincided with rising delinquencies in some loan categories (for example, elevated delinquency among subprime auto loans), an increase in consumer stress that could cut consumption and slow revenue growth.

On tourism — an important sector in Vermont — Titterton said tourism supports roughly $4 billion in annual activity in the state and accounts for a substantial share of retail, lodging and meals and rooms tax receipts. He noted several anecdotal reports of Canadian travelers reducing or cancelling trips and observed that Canadians historically make up a meaningful share of some Vermont destinations’ customers; he cautioned that changes in cross‑border travel rules and Canadians’ travel decisions could affect revenues tied to tourism.

Titterton also discussed possible federal‑level changes that could flow through to state revenues. He warned that congressional tax changes embedded in reconciliation proposals could alter federal tax items that serve as Vermont’s starting point (adjusted gross income) or change credits tied to the federal code; he said the precise structure of any federal change matters to Vermont’s receipts. He also noted an ongoing federal policy discussion about the hospital provider tax safe harbor that could reduce a commonly used 6% threshold to 3% and—based on staff calculations—would reduce the state’s available federal match (staff estimated a roughly $104 million reduction in state match availability under one staff calculation and said the precise fiscal effect would merit further analysis).

Titterton ended with a cautionary note but also a reminder of the immediate good news: “The general fund here today is almost $40,000,000 above the forecast so far,” he said, but he urged members to watch tariffs, consumer confidence, bond markets and pending federal policy changes that could change next year’s outlook.

Ending

Titterton advised that the March results leave the current fiscal year in a favorable position but that committee staff will continue monitoring incoming tax‑day receipts, tariffs and credit markets for changes that could affect next fiscal year’s consensus forecast.","Patrick Titterton of the Joint Fiscal Office told the committee the general fund is tracking above forecast through March and highlighted several economic risks — new federal tariffs and uncertainty in global supply chains, a sharp drop in consumer confidence, movements in bond and currency markets that raise borrowing costs, and possible changes","actionData","errors"]

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Committee reviews S.27: $1 million appropriation to contract with nonprofit to buy down medical debt; state tax offices say debt abolition likely non‑taxable

Joint Fiscal Office revenue update: general fund above forecast but multiple economic risks flagged — tariffs, consumer confidence, tourism and federal tax/Med‑