Lawmakers, hospitals spar over whether Green Mountain Care Board enforcement should be a 'contested case'

At a legislative committee hearing, hospital representatives, state advocates and members of the Green Mountain Care Board debated whether enforcement of hospital budget orders should be handled as formal “contested cases” under the Vermont Administrative Procedures Act or remain a less formal administrative process.

Devin Green, Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, told the committee, “The only thing we oppose is the recent proposal from the Green Mountain Care Board on Section 7 around the Vermont Administrative Procedures Act and the contested case language” and said hospitals want a formal notice-and-hearing process so they have “a notice and opportunity to present their case.”

The dispute centers on a provision the Green Mountain Care Board proposed that would clarify budget‑enforcement proceedings are not contested cases — a move the board and some legislators say preserves a quicker administrative remedy. Legal…