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NEED TO KNOW
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Legislature Holds Pre-Session Meetings to Provide Budget and Health Reform Updates
On Wednesday of last week, newly elected legislators from across the State traveled to Montpelier for the annual pre-session Legislative Briefing to hear an overview of Vermont's economic outlook, FY26 revenue forecast, and projected policy priorities for the 2025-2026 legislative biennium. Speaker Krowinski and Senate President Pro-Tem Baruth started the day by addressing the difficulties facing the State and said, "it will not be easy, but we must provide quality education solutions at a price that Vermonters can afford." They cited rising costs in health care, housing, and childcare programs as critical issues they will confront this session and outlined significant policy priorities to: expand workforce development initiatives, make investments in affordable and workforce housing, and provide communities with climate resiliency resources to better weather the impacts of climate change. Click here for the Joint Fiscal Office's Budget documents.
On Friday of last week, the Health Reform Oversight Committee held a meeting to discuss the Act 167 hospital transformation process, the AHEAD model, and how the Scott Administration, the Agency of Human Services (AHS), and the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB), plans to work with the Legislature to implement components of the Oliver Wyman report. AHS Secretary Jenny Samuelson and Chair of the GMCB Owen Foster led the discussion, and they underscored their goal to work collaboratively to meet the challenges of ensuring Vermont can "provide the care that our people deserve." In an acknowledgement of thepublic tension between Vermont hospitals and the GMCB, the Co-Chair of the Health Reform Oversight Committee (HROC) said, "Reform is a process - we need to find a way to get along. We don't want to lose our acute care hospitals. We are facing a time of increased utilization, increased needs and increased substance use. Our system is fragmented, no doubt, but starting today we have an opportunity to work together and build a cohesive system." Click here for the AHS HROC Presentation.
Secretary Samuelson also used the meeting to announce that Vermont and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have reached agreement on a Term Sheet that summarizes where the parties currently stand on key points related to Vermont’s participation in the AHEAD Model. Given the negotiated base Medicare funding and trend rate for future years, AHS estimates that participating in AHEAD could result in up to $139 million in additional Medicare dollars in 2026 that could be used “to stabilize health care providers, address access issues, and increase availability of services across the continuum of care (e.g., mental health, substance use disorder (SUD), primary care, home health, long-term care, and specialty care initiatives).” (See slide 22 of the AHS Presentation). AHS and the GMCB still need to decide whether to enter the AHEAD Model and, if so, which year to begin participation. |
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From the President’s Desk – Addressing the Cost of Care
From Katie Marvin, MD, VMS President
Good morning from a snowy Vermont hillside.
Looking out at our frosty trees, and giving myself an hour to focus on this update, I am reminded of the logger who has no time to sharpen his saw. Many of us in medicine have ideas on how to improve the system, and when we get together, I have found that we share similar goals, strategies and ethics. However, one of the issues is those of us in practice often simply do not have enough time to influence systemic strategy. I appreciate any of you who serve on boards, take the time to write letters, and even send an email voicing your perspective and thoughts. You are the people providing day to day care, and you know the needs and barriers of your patients. At this time of year, many people in our communities are choosing between medications and presents for the holidays. It sounds cliché, but it happens every day. As I see it, the major national (medical) news have a common denominator, and that is the COST of care.
There is no shortage of topics at hand in the world of health care. Since my last letter, we have seen announcements from UVMMC responding to GMCB budget orders, we have learned of the assassination of an insurance company CEO, and we have watched the national stage make nominations for our country’s highest medical offices. It is a lot to digest.
I see a common thread of COST in these topics, and like it or not, cost includes our day-to-day decisions: what we order, who we admit, what tests we run, and how much we charge. So, what can we do at the provider level? Those of us too busy to sharpen our saws… What can we do individually to reduce cost for the patients, and still maintain high quality, evidence-based care? And would it even make a difference? I would like to hear your suggestions. I only know the lens of the family doctor. Reach out to me anytime at president@vtmd.org.
Read Dr. Marvin’s full letter. |
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Legislative Breakfasts Just Around the Corner
– Intro Advocacy Webinar January 9th
Your voice makes a difference! Please join us in 2025 to meet your
lawmakers over coffee and a light breakfast. These breakfasts, which will be
held in the cafeteria at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier are an informal
opportunity to educate lawmakers on ways to improve Vermont's practice
environment and health care system. You don’t need any prior advocacy
experience to join! Each breakfast starts on specific Wednesday at 8-9:30AM.
The first all specialty/VMS breakfast kicks off on January 15th.
Register here.
We will also be hosting an Intro to Advocacy and legislative
breakfast logistics webinar Thursday, January 9th from
7:30-8am. The webinar will also be recorded for those who can’t join
live. Join the Zoom link on the 9th here.
The dates for the breakfasts are:
VMS/All Specialties – January 15
Medical Student Interest Group – January 28 (12:30-2pm)
Family Physicians – February 19
Pediatrics – March 19
Vermont Ophthalmological Society – March 26
Family Physicians – April 2
VMS/All Specialties - April 16
Family Physicians – April 30
Please reach out to Jill Sudhoff-Guerin at jsudhoffguerin@vtmd.org if you have
any questions and be sure to register
to receive important logistics and policy updates before your breakfast. |
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MISC.
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Seeking Clinician Input on Participating in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace
The Division of Customer Experience Engagement (DCXE) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently conducting clinician qualitative research focused on understanding factors influencing a clinician’s decision to participate or not participate in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace, including but not limited to financial aspects.
The intent is to gain perspectives and insights by speaking directly with clinicians who:
- Have opted out of Medicare, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace (both those who never enrolled and those who enrolled and then opted out)
- Are enrolled in Medicare and/or Medicaid and not currently accepting new patients
- Previously opted out and have decided to re-enroll or terminate their decision to opt out
- Have transitioned to a direct primary care or concierge model
The DCXE is seeking 5 – 7 individuals from each state who represent the categories above and would be interested in voluntarily participating in a discussion about their participation or non-participation with Medicare, Medicaid, and/or the Marketplace. Conversations with individuals typically last about 30 minutes – 1 hour and would take place via Zoom. There is no need to prepare anything in advance. All participation in the DCXE engagement would be anonymized and aggregated with the learnings from other participants. Please contact Jessa Barnard at jbarnard@vtmd.org if you are interested in participating. |
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Next Commissioner Call, January 2, 2024
The Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine, MD, will hold his next Public Health Update with VMS Members this Thursday, January 2nd at 12:30 pm. You can join the zoom meetings here.
He held his most recent VMS member call on December 5th. Notes from the call are here. |
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Vermont Clinician Prior Authorization Impact Survey Closes Tomorrow, December 11th VMS
is running a survey through tomorrow, December 11th to inform
policy makers regarding the impact of prior authorizations on your health care
facility/practice and patients. This survey was requested by the Vermont
legislature in Section 7(a) of Act
111 of 2024 to measure the impact of the law on prior authorizations both
before and after the law goes into effect on January 1. Thank you in advance
for your assistance in completing the survey! Your input is very important!
Contact the Vermont Medical Society with questions at https://vtmd.org/contact-us.
Please find the links below.
Clinician Survey Link. Intended for clinicians who participate in the prior authorization process.
Practice Administrator Link. Please have the practice or facility staff familiar with the prior authorization process and staffing at your location complete this survey for your practice. Please only complete once per facility/practice. |
EVENTS
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42nd PAAV Annual Winter CME Conference
January 30th - February 2nd, 2025
The annual winter PA Academy of Vermont Conference is at Stoweflake in Stowe, VT 1/30/25 -2/2/25
Please come join the fun and get CME too!
VMS President, Dr. Katie Marvin speaking on Saturday!
The early bird rate is extended through 12/13/24. (save $100)
Learn more and register here.
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Learning Collaboratives on In-Basket Reduction and Reducing Regulatory Burden
October 2024 – March 2025
AMA STEPS Forward® Innovation Academy is launching two new, six-month learning collaboratives on optimizing the in-basket to reduce work burden and rethinking how organizations apply regulatory rules to clinical practice. Each collaborative will convene dyads or triads of leadership representatives from multiple organizations to engage in a longitudinal shared learning experience. Limited space available. Learn more.
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For more information about offerings from UVM
CMIE, visit here. |
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Vermont Medical Society 134 Main Street Montpelier, VT 05602 -- Unsubscribe -- |
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