Senate panel reviews bill to expand Office of the Health Care Advocate’s role and access to information

Jen Harvey of the Office of Legislative Council walked the Senate Health and Welfare Committee through the House bill that updates and broadens the Office of the Health Care Advocate’s statutory role.

“So now we will walk through the bill,” Harvey said at the start of her presentation.

The measure revises Title 18 statutory language to expand the office’s focus beyond health insurance to a broader charge on access to health care and affordability. At the hearing Harvey and other participants described changes that would strengthen the office’s ability to participate in rate review, certificate-of-need (CON) proceedings, and state policymaking that affects health care access.

Why it matters: the Office of the Health Care Advocate assists Vermonters with insurance and access problems, files public comments in regulatory proceedings and may intervene in CON cases. The bill would codify and expand that role, clarify confidentiality rules for sensitive materials, and require state agencies to facilitate meaningful participation by the office in matters of significant…