Senate Health & Welfare reviews inventory of reports due to committee, assigns follow-ups

The Senate Health & Welfare Committee on Jan. 17 reviewed an inventory of statutorily required reports and status updates the legislature has asked state agencies to deliver to the committee and to related oversight bodies.

Jennifer Curry of the Office of Legislative Council told members, “We prepared a list for you of all of the reports that the chair said that the legislature has asked for that are due into this committee,” and displayed a multi-page list of submissions, hyperlinks and outstanding items.

Why it matters: the documents include program updates, budget and enrollment snapshots, and statutory progress reports that the panel uses to oversee Medicaid spending, emergency housing and shelter capacity, behavioral-health services, prescription drug cost work and other public-health programs. Several items on the list have follow-up implications for appropriations, federal waivers and agency rulemaking.

Committee staff emphasized that the list spans reports due since the legislature adjourned in May/June 2024 and into the coming months. Staff highlighted a set of recurring, short-format reports (for example, quarterly enrollment and expenditure snapshots for Medicaid programs and monthly emergency-housing updates) as well as longer statutory deliverables such as the statewide suicide-prevention strategic plan and two progress reports on development of emergency shelter and permanent supportive housing capacity.

Topics and documents flagged for attention included: - Suicide prevention (Act 56 of 2023): a statewide strategic plan and a model protocol for health-care facilities on suicide prevention, education and postvention services. - Emergency housing and permanent supportive housing: an initial plan and two progress reports from the Department for Children and Families (DCF), with related presentations expected to the Joint Fiscal Committee in the summer. - Medicaid and related program reports: quarterly enrollment/expenditure reports, the global-commitment investment report tied to the Section 1115 waiver, pharmacy best-practices and cost-control program reports, and a DVHA review of VPharm prescription-assistance changes tied to recent Medicare Savings Program expansions. - Prescription-drug work: an Office of the Attorney General annual report on prescription-drug cost transparency, Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) planning for a prescription-cost regulation program and a report on reference-based pricing and impacts to plans and providers. - Behavioral-health and crisis services: competence-restoration fiscal estimates, mental-health workforce expansion progress reports, the Mental Health Crisis Commission products and annual reports from the Department of Mental Health on placement and settings of care. - Substance-use and overdose prevention: repeated monthly and quarterly updates on grants tied to Burlington’s overdose prevention center and an annual evaluation report of the pilot program. - PFAS chemicals: a cross-agency report (Health and ANR) evaluating options for a more comprehensive regulatory approach to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. - Early-childhood and workforce items: after-school and summer-learning grant summaries, Building Bright Futures reports, and multiple reports required by the 2023 budget affecting child-care and pre-K implementation.

Committee members and staff noted several administrative and fiscal concerns arising from the documents. Staff summarized the Green Mountain Care Board’s bill-back allocation (roughly 60% state / 40% regulated entities, with the ACO share currently about 8%) and warned committee members that the winding down of a large ACO could create a “resource hole” for the GMCB to cover regulatory expenses. Committee staff also reminded members that the Joint Fiscal Committee and the Emergency Board have limited authorities for grant acceptance and emergency transfers; several members raised general oversight concerns about grant-funded positions and the risk that programs funded temporarily by grants could create ongoing budget obligations.

The committee chair asked members to each pick topics or report streams to track more closely and to be prepared to lead follow-ups when agency officials or external witnesses are scheduled. The chair told members, “Find an area that you're interested in, whether it's substance use disorder, mental health, or a combination, or is it EMS, or is it health care financing, or is it childcare?”

What the committee will do next: staff said they will return with targeted witnesses on priority items — including the Green Mountain Care Board, the Department of Health and the Department for Children and Families — and will bring specific reports for advance review before those hearings. The meeting was informational; no formal votes or motions were taken.

The session closed with a short recess and a plan for members to self-assign review areas and return with questions for scheduled presenters.