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DVHA outlines FY27 plan to close $75M shortfall with program reductions, rate changes and IT investments
Summary
The Department of Vermont Health Access told the Senate Appropriations Committee it faces a $75 million shortfall and proposes program cuts (including ending a Medicare advocacy contract and dental incentives), prescription co-pay increases, targeted rate adjustments and $5 million for HR1 IT implementation and $2 million in one-time provider stabilization funding.
Deshan Bros, introducing themself as the agency executive commissioner for the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), told the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 31 that the agency built its FY27 budget around five cross-agency priorities—housing; substance use and mental health; healthcare affordability; sustainability and quality; and workforce resilience—and that a $75 million shortfall shaped the administration’s proposals.
DVHA presented a topline FY27 figure it read as “1.3 billion 579 million,” and staff directed committee members to page 47 of the budget book for the line‑by‑line roll-up. Agency staff acknowledged at the hearing that the presentation included at least one apparent roll‑up typo and said they would correct and report back to the committee.
To reduce costs, DVHA recommended eliminating several contracts and modest programs it said had not delivered expected returns. The agency proposed ending the Medicare Advocacy Program contract—used to…
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