Committee expands statewide health care delivery plan language, adds health equity representation to advisory committee

During the markup of a health care reform bill, the House Health Care Committee revised the sections that create a statewide health care delivery strategic plan and a health care delivery advisory committee.

Committee members inserted the word “universal” in front of access language to align the plan with principles the bill references, adjusted the plan’s performance‑measurement and evaluation language, and reorganized accountability and continuous quality improvement provisions. Members moved the evaluation framework and other performance metric language into statutory subsections tied to the plan.

The committee also modified the advisory committee’s composition: staff said the advisory panel increased from 17 to 18 members and the committee agreed to add a representative from the Health Equity Advisory Commission (and the newly forming Office of Health Equity) to ensure that existing equity work and recommendations are reflected in plan development and implementation. Committee members discussed options — either requiring consultation with the Health Equity Advisory Commission or adding a commission representative directly — and opted to add the commission representative to the advisory committee so the commission’s recommendations can be incorporated during plan development.

Members also discussed the comprehensive primary health care steering committee, its administrative support, and the role of the UVM Larner College of Medicine chairs in convening initial meetings. Committee members asked that the steering committee and advisory committee consider performance metrics, exemplars of high‑quality care to disseminate best practices, and barriers to access including mental‑health and substance‑use care, with language adjusted to include prevention and upstream services rather than only “treatment.”