Senate Health & Welfare reviews bill requiring state approval for hospital service cuts
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Summary
A Senate Health & Welfare committee presentation examined S.189, which would require Secretary of Human Services approval before hospitals reduce or eliminate services and add notice, public hearings and reporting requirements; the Green Mountain Care Board would review budget impacts if reductions are approved.
Speaker 2 (role not specified) told the Senate Health & Welfare committee that S.189 would prohibit a hospital from reducing or eliminating any service without approval from the Secretary of Human Services and would require hospitals to provide at least 60 days' notice before a proposed reduction or elimination.
The bill, as presented, would require hospitals to post a notice of intent on their websites, publish notice in a general-circulation newspaper serving the hospital service area, hold public hearings and provide a summary of community responses. The Agency of Human Services would review proposals for consistency with a statewide health-care delivery strategic plan and community health needs assessments and could approve reductions only if they do not unduly burden access to services and the benefits outweigh the harms.
Speaker 2 summarized the post-approval role for the Green Mountain Care Board: if the agency approves a reduction, the agency must notify the board so it can review impacts on the hospital’s approved budget; the board may change the hospital budget, including directing that any savings be returned to payers or Vermonters to address affordability concerns or reinvested in primary care and community-based services. The board would also monitor implementation.
Speaker 1 (role not specified) welcomed the proposed public engagement measures, saying, “I love that there's a public engagement process,” and asked staff to clarify outreach steps tied to the statewide strategic plan.
The committee did not take a vote. Members said they expect stakeholder testimony and additional detail on the yet-to-be-established statewide health-care delivery strategic plan and how regionalization and budget review processes will interact with the new approval requirement. The bill will be scheduled for further testimony and review by committee staff and invited witnesses.