Senate Health & Welfare reviews bills to raise Vermont certificate-of-need thresholds

The Senate Health & Welfare Committee on Jan. 29 reviewed two competing bills (S10 and S20) that would raise the dollar thresholds at which health facility projects must obtain a certificate of need from the Green Mountain Care Board and would add or change several exclusions and procedural thresholds. Committee members and legislative counsel said the committee will take testimony from hospitals, insurers, the Health Care Advocate, independent physicians and other stakeholders before deciding what language to advance.

The bills are tied to a larger health-care transformation effort and follow recommendations in a report commissioned by the Green Mountain Care Board from the Oliver Wyman Group. Committee counsel Jen Harvey, Office of Legislative Council, opened the committee's review by placing the CON statutes in context: "We are in title 18 ... in a subchapter on health facility planning" and explained that the CON regime was enacted to "avoid unnecessary duplication and contain or reduce increases in the cost of delivering services," while maintaining access and quality.

Both bills change the monetary triggers in 18 V.S.A. a7 9434 but differ in the specific amounts and in proposed exclusions. Key…