UVM Health official outlines $100 million expense-cutting plan after steep revenue losses

A UVM Health representative told a legislative panel that the system has already begun taking aggressive steps to reduce costs after commercial-rate and budget changes led to steep revenue declines.

The update, delivered beginning at SEG 011, said a new contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont that took effect Jan. 1 reduced many charges to insurers by roughly 12% on average and cut CT, MRI and common outpatient lab charges by about 25%, measures the speaker said have lowered many patients’ copays. “On average reduced every single charge we have to Blue Cross 12% less than it was in 2025,” the speaker said.

Why it matters: the presenter said those payer and budget shifts coincided with months of operating losses and a worsening outlook that require expense reductions rather than revenue gains to balance the books. He reported losses of roughly $13 million and $15 million in consecutive months and estimated about $48 million in losses in the first quarter, with a daily operating shortfall of about $460,000 at the medical center.

To address that gap, UVM Health has set up a Sustainability Council and is…