Family members and designated agencies tell Vermont committee H.13 must raise Medicaid rates to stabilize home- and community-based services

Lawmakers continued testimony on H.13 on Wednesday, Feb. 5, hearing from family members and leaders of designated and specialized service agencies who said current Medicaid reimbursement and persistent staffing shortages are reducing services for Vermonters who rely on home- and community-based supports.

The hearing, held before the House Committee on Human Services, featured extended testimony from Lisa Stamatis of Milton, a parent whose family waited seven years for agency services and who described a four-year interruption in supports during the COVID period that she says harmed her adult children’s skills and independence. "Support services enable us to be parents," Stamatis told the committee. Her testimony included specific examples of medical and safety risks that followed the loss of regular staff and described the differences her family saw after transferring to Champlain Community Services (CCS).

Why it matters: agency leaders told the committee that designated agencies (DAs) and specialized service agencies (SSAs) are heavily dependent on Medicaid — roughly 90 percent of revenue systemwide — and said current rates do not cover costs. Beth Seitler, chief executive officer of Washington County Mental Health Services, summarized the mismatch in practical terms: "A case manager costs about $80 an hour and we're reimbursed, I think, $50.55," she said, adding…