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Legislators press AHS on primary care losses and short‑term access for rural patients
Summary
Legislators raised concerns about recent primary care clinic closures (Bellows Falls and Waitsfield area), transportation barriers and short‑term steps to maintain access; AHS officials discussed workforce causes, planned investments and Medicaid transportation supports.
Legislators asked Agency of Human Services officials on Jan. 29 what short‑term steps the state can take after two primary care practices closed or announced closures in rural communities.
A legislator noted a clinic closure in Bellows Falls and another in the Waitsfield area and asked what the agency can do to protect primary‑care access in the near term. Secretary Jenny Samuelson said workforce shortages—not payment levels—were driving the closures in those locations. "Those clinics weren't sustainable…we're gonna have to make some concrete structural changes," she said, describing provider shortages and demographic staffing constraints as key problems.
Samuelson pointed to multi‑year investments aimed at stabilizing primary care and community health teams, including an anticipated increase in per‑member monthly support for primary care through AHS initiatives (an amount described in the briefing as approximately an increase to about $21 per member per month over a multi‑year horizon). She cautioned that those funds are part of a multi‑year plan and that some changes—consolidation of practice footprints—are likely as organizations adjust to workforce realities.
Asked for immediate help for patients who lack transportation, the secretary noted that Medicaid provides non‑emergency medical transportation for enrolled beneficiaries and said the agency is working with communities on broader transportation solutions. "Transportation is one of the things that came out in the recent report that we need to address," Samuelson said, and AHS staff said they are coordinating with local partners on practical access solutions.
No immediate policy decisions or emergency funding commitments were made during the briefing; officials recommended local coordination and said state‑level investments aimed at primary care stability will roll out over time.
