Senate Health & Welfare unveils framework for statewide health‑care delivery plan, payment reforms to curb rising hospital costs

Montpelier — The Senate Health & Welfare Committee on Feb. 11 discussed a committee bill outline aimed at reworking Vermont’s health system to address rising hospital costs and shrinking commercial insurance capacity, emphasizing a statewide health‑care delivery plan, data integration and payment reform.

The draft, presented by Jennifer Carvey of the Office of Legislative Council, would direct the Green Mountain Care Board and the Agency of Human Services to develop an integrated statewide health‑care delivery plan that builds on the Health Resource Allocation Plan (HRAP), Act 167 transformation work and other data sources. The proposal also contains provisions on clinical and claims data integration, reference‑based pricing for commercial payers, global hospital budgets, a statewide audit of hospital finances, and new staff and contract resources for the Care Board.

Why it matters: Committee leaders said Vermont faces rapidly rising hospital and insurance costs that threaten access and affordability; the draft is meant to create both near‑term regulatory authorities the Green Mountain Care Board could use and a longer‑term blueprint to align hospitals, payers and state agencies. Members emphasized tradeoffs, noting some measures could strain hospitals that are already financially vulnerable.

The bill outline describes five parts: a statewide health‑care delivery plan; a…