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Expert urges flexibility, data transparency in S.126 hospital budget overhaul
Summary
Dr. Elliot Fisher told lawmakers the Green Mountain Care Board should get flexible tools, clearer goals and stronger data access to help slow rising health-care costs, restructure hospital services regionally and align payment reforms — but lawmakers should preserve the board’s discretion on benchmarks such as Medicare rates.
Dr. Elliot Fisher, an invited health policy expert, told Vermont lawmakers that S.126 should give the Green Mountain Care Board flexibility, stronger data authority and clearer goals to help slow health-care spending and redesign hospital services.
“There's just no question we can't afford to have health care costs continue to rise,” Fisher said, citing an expected 20% increase in premiums and arguing the state must shift investment away from a hospital‑centered system and toward primary care, mental health and community services.
Fisher said the bill’s central tension is between imposing immediate requirements on the board and granting it flexible tools to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. He urged lawmakers to emphasize goals such as improved population health, workforce well‑being and measurable quality targets while allowing the board discretion in methods and benchmarks. “The challenge is about granting the flexibility needed to allow the board and AHS to respond in a timely way with all the tools they need,” he said.
Why it matters: hospitals account for a large share of Vermont’s health spending, and Fisher said budget and…
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