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Rural Vermont backs funding for Bridges to Health and reiterates support for universal publicly funded care
Summary
Rural Vermont told the committee it supports including funding to transition Bridges to Health from UVM to fiscal sponsorship in the FY2026 budget adjustment and reiterated its broader support for implementing a universal publicly funded healthcare system in Vermont.
Rural Vermont asked the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee to support Bridges to Health, a health outreach and care‑coordination program for migrant and immigrant workers. Eunice Rupertoff said Rural Vermont supports adding funding to the FY2026 budget adjustment to transition Bridges to Health from its current home at the University of Vermont to a fiscal sponsorship model.
Rupertoff described Bridges to Health as serving migrant and immigrant workers and families not otherwise reached by existing services, and said Rural Vermont ‘‘agrees to support that as well.’’ The transcript records a numeric figure described in testimony, but the amount is unclear in the record; the committee requested clearer documentation when pursuing budget language.
Beyond the Bridges to Health ask, Rupertoff reiterated Rural Vermont’s long‑standing policy support for implementing the universal publicly funded health‑care system recommended in the Vermont food strategic agricultural plan, which the organization helped to author.
No budget vote was taken at this meeting; committee members acknowledged the request and agreed to coordinate with budget staff and relevant committees as needed.
