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AHS recommends clearer limits, tighter timelines for Human Services Board after Act 22 review
Summary
Agency of Human Services general counsel Ashley Johns told lawmakers the Human Services Board has been making broad rulings beyond individual benefit determinations, and AHS recommended clarifying HSB authority, standardizing procedures, enforcing deadlines (particularly for Medicaid), expanding data tracking, and protecting child witnesses from required testimony.
Ashley Johns, general counsel for the Agency of Human Services (AHS), told the House Human Services Committee that AHS's Act 22 review of the Human Services Board (HSB) found inconsistent procedures, missed deadlines, and instances where the board's rulings appeared to establish broad policy rather than decide individual, fact-based benefit appeals.
"Interpreted broadly right now the statute related to HSB is being used to essentially create policy," Johns said, arguing the HSB should be limited to reviewing whether an agency applied law or policy correctly to an individual's facts rather than adopting statewide policy in a single case.
Johns outlined four broad legislative priorities: clarifying HSB authority and jurisdiction; improving consistency of hearings and the appellant experience; enforcing timelines (with special urgency in Medicaid cases); and protecting child victims and witnesses from being required to testify. She said AHS found wide variability across department-level pre-hearing processes and recommended publishing standard filing forms, formal rules for continuances and impartiality, and clearer plain-language materials to prepare appellants for hearings.
On timeliness, Johns said federal rules set statutory deadlines — for example, Medicaid decisions are to be decided within 90 days — but AHS found many decisions issued 30—300 days after those deadlines. That lag creates fiscal risk: "We had one we found in 2024 ... where we've overpaid by about $12,000 for one individual in benefits," she said, adding that overpayments can create federal compliance risks and tax complications for appellants.
AHS recommended adopting mandatory deadlines, increasing HSB meeting frequency so decisions reach appellants faster, and tracking case metrics in an expanded case management system. Johns also urged a narrow statutory exception to prevent requiring child victims and witnesses to testify in abuse or neglect substantiation hearings, citing trauma concerns and gaps in current age-based rules (33 VSA a7 4916b was discussed during questions).
Committee members asked about feasibility and resources; Johns said timeliness and clarifying jurisdiction were likely achievable without immediate new appropriations, while other recommendations may require additional resources or rulemaking. The committee scheduled further testimony, including from HSB hearing officer Joe Reiner next week.
