Senate moves to amend H.80 to update Office of the Health Care Advocate

The Vermont Senate on April 8 voted to propose amendments recommended by the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and ordered third reading of H.80, a bill that updates state law governing the Office of the Health Care Advocate to reflect the office’s current duties and procedures.

Senator Gulick, the committee’s reporter, told colleagues the bill brings statutes into line with work the advocate already performs and urged support. “Please call the health care advocate’s office. They run a helpline available to anyone in Vermont, and they help folks experiencing barriers that interfere with getting the care that they need,” Gulick said during the committee report.

The committee report said the amendments strengthen the HCA’s ability to ask questions of insurers in the Green Mountain Care Board’s rate review process, clarify the HCA’s and the long-term care ombudsman’s roles in certificate-of-need reviews, and update Title 18, chapter 229 (subsections cited in committee as 9602–9606) to reflect the office’s expanded duties. The bill also clarifies when state agencies shall share confidential information with the HCA consistent with state and federal law, addresses conflict-of-interest limitations for HCA staff serving on nonprofit provider boards, and sets an effective date of July 1, 2025.

Committee witnesses listed in the record included representatives from the Office of Legislative Counsel and several agency and advocacy officials: Wendy Critchlow (Office of Legislative Counsel), Laura Bellavoe (staff attorney, Green Mountain Care Board), Emily Brown (deputy commissioner of insurance, Department of Financial Regulation), Mike Fisher (chief health care advocate, Vermont Legal Aid), Ashley Johns (staff attorney, Agency of Human Services), and Sarah Teachout (director of government, public and media relations, Blue Cross and Blue Shield). The committee reported its recommendation by a 5-0-0 vote.

During floor consideration, a senator identified in the transcript as the “Senator from Franklin” questioned why an independent advocate is necessary instead of relying on state agencies. The senator said it was “disturbing” that an advocate is required to do work the senator expected state agencies to perform. Gulick and other senators explained the distinction between independent advocacy for individual Vermonters and the broader programmatic work of agencies such as the Department of Health or the Department of Vermont Health Access.

The Senate voted by voice to propose the committee’s amendment to the House (voice vote; counts not specified in the record). Shortly thereafter the Senate ordered and passed third reading of H.80 by voice vote (counts not specified). The transcript does not record a roll-call tally.

What H.80 would change: the committee described the bill as (1) strengthening the HCA’s role in rate-review proceedings before the Green Mountain Care Board, (2) clarifying the HCA’s ability to receive confidential information in certain proceedings consistent with law, (3) defining duties and authorities in updated statutory subsections (identified in committee discussion as 9602–9606), and (4) defining conflict-of-interest limits tied to primary regulators. The committee report and witnesses also noted the HCA’s history: created in statute in 1998, run by Vermont Legal Aid after a 1999 RFP, renamed in 2013 and expanded, and, according to the committee report, the office has served about 70,000 Vermonters through its helpline since inception.

Discussion vs. decision: floor comments in the transcript were primarily explanatory and responsive to a question about the office’s role; the Senate’s formal actions were (1) a voice approval to propose the committee amendment to the House and (2) a voice approval to order third reading and pass the bill on third reading. The record shows committee support and no recorded dissent on the committee recommendation.

Next steps: because the Senate voted to propose the committee’s amendment to the House and ordered third reading, H.80 will return to the House with the Senate’s proposed amendment language for the House’s consideration. The bill’s effective date stated in committee is July 1, 2025.

Note: vote tallies were recorded as voice votes in the transcript and numerical counts were not specified in the record.