Vermont Veterans Home presents FY26 budget request citing staffing costs, Medicaid settlement changes

Officials from the Vermont Veterans Home briefed the Senate Committee on Appropriations on the home’s FY26 budget request, emphasizing staffing shortages, high costs for agency (traveling) staff, and changes to how Medicaid settlement funds are treated in the budget.

Melissa Jackson, chief executive officer of the Vermont Veterans Home, told the committee the current request appears larger in general‑fund terms than prior years because the facility is building previously separate Medicaid settlement funding into its base budget rather than seeking annual budget adjustments. The request is based on an assumed census of 90 residents and proposed private-room and semi‑private rates of $345 and $325 per day, respectively. Jackson said the interim Medicaid rate used in planning was $475 per day, while the most recent Medicaid cost report put actual Medicaid costs closer to $700 per day.

Jackson and Steve McClafferty, the home’s finance director, said agency staffing (contract traveling staff) costs are the single largest pressure, totaling about $7 million per year. The home has taken steps to recruit and train its own workforce: it recently graduated two LNA (licensed nursing assistant) training classes and hired 12 LNAs. McClafferty gave a cost comparison: hiring an LNA as a home employee costs roughly $92,000 per year versus about $137,000 per year when staffed through agencies — roughly a 40% premium for agency-provided labor.

At the time the budget was prepared, Steve McClafferty said the home had about 64 vacant positions, the majority being licensed nursing assistants, which drives reliance on agency staff and the associated cost premium. The home’s revenue mix includes special funds (identified by staff as Vermont Medicaid and domiciliary funds) and federal funds including Medicare and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs payments; the veterans home said privately paying veterans represent a small share of revenue and census (approximately 4% of dollars).

Committee members asked whether the home’s vacancy savings line item would be expected to shrink as agency staffing decreases; staff said lowering agency staff use would reduce vacancy-savings anomalies and bring the budget closer to fully staffed salary costs. Jackson also highlighted national recognition: the home received Bronze-level national quality awards and was ranked in top categories by U.S. News & World Report in long- and short-term care.

Committee members thanked the delegation and said they would follow up as budget deliberations continue.