March 10, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

Stephanie Winters, Deputy Director of the VMS and long time VMS member, John Leppman, MD taking a moment to catch up during a busy time at the State House!

Legislators Push for Their Priority Bills to Pass in Crossover Week

Legislators are watching the sand drain from the hourglass as they push to get their bills passed out of all Committees before the "crossover" deadline this Friday, March 13th.  Crossover is the last week for Committees to take action on bills in order for them to advance this session. If Committees fail to vote on bills before March 13th, they will be considered dead for the biennium, whereas Budget Committees have until March 20^th to complete their work. 

Here is an update on some of the bills VMS is tracking right now, along with actions you can take to make your voice heard:

S.64 - The Senate Health and Welfare Committee has scheduled this bill on the last day before crossover because to consider whether they support optometrists pushing to pass legislation that would allow them to perform procedures on the eye. Your emails are helping - please continue to reach out on the patient safety risks for Vermonters of expanding optometry scope of practice.

FY27 Budget - The House Appropriations Committee is facing difficult decisions, with very little funding. Please email them to let them know how critical primary care funding is for access to care and urge them to at least fund these critical primary care initiatives: 

• Restore $1.27 m GF for AHEC programming, loan repayment and MD placement;
• Restore $2.01 m GF for DVHA $4.75 PMPM alternative payment to primary care;
• Include $3.31 m for an inflationary adjustment to primary care fee schedule;
• Remove sunset on the Medical Student Scholarship Program.

Please email the House Appropriations Committee before the end of this week:rscheu@leg.state.vt.us; tbluemle@leg.state.vt.us; edickinson@leg.state.vt.us; jkascenska@leg.state.vt.us; wlaroche@leg.state.vt.us; mmrowicki@leg.state.vt.us; mnigro@leg.state.vt.us; tsquirrell@leg.state.vt.us; tstevens@leg.state.vt.us; dyacovone@leg.state.vt.us; mfeltus@leg.state.vt.us; autumn.crabtree@vtleg.gov

H.545, the bill regarding Vermont adopting its own immunization recommendations, passed the House and advances to the Governor's desk.

S.197, the primary care payment bill, is up for a vote in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee this Thursday. A new draft of the bill is expected this week, which will focus on building payment reform off of Blueprint practice payments.

H.583, a bill regarding private equity, is scheduled for a potential vote in the House Health Care Committee this week. The Vermont Medical Society is advocating with the Health Care Coalition for a version of the legislation that more narrowly achieves the goals of the bill. A new draft of the bill is expected. 

H.585, the Administration's health insurance bill, has a new draft that removed the section that looked to repeal prior authorization exemptions for hospital-based primary care. This bill is scheduled for a vote this week. 

H.814 and H.816, two bills seeking to regulate AI in health care, were discussed in House Health Care last week. Stephanie Winters, Deputy Director of the VMS, testified generally in support of these bills, with suggested changes for H.814 and clarifications for H.816. These bills are scheduled for potential votes this week in that Committee

S.278, the Senate Economic Development Committee is scheduled to take a vote this week on this omnibus cannabis bill that removes vital public health protections in the market. Do you have information on the actual impact of use of high potency concentrates and cannabis use disorder, accidental ingestion, and cannabis hyperemesis syndrome? Please reach out to the Committee regarding the public health impact of reducing regulation of cannabis sales on our communities: aclarkson@leg.state.vt.us; kramhinsdale@leg.state.vt.us; tchittenden@leg.state.vt.us; rbrock@leg.state.vt.us; dweeks@leg.state.vt.us; cmead@leg.state.vt.us

AHS Gives Update on the Rural Health Transformation Program Process

Jill Mazza Olson, the Medicaid Director for the Agency of Human Services (AHS), presented an update on the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program process in the House Appropriations Committee this week. Olson said the RHT program is not a grant, rather a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), with a high degree of oversight and fast-approaching deadlines. AHS is currently negotiating with CMS on developing the specific funding agreements to spend $195,053,740 by September 30th, 2027. The funding obligation deadline is October 30, 2026, but AHS is giving themselves an internal deadline of August 1, 2026. All unexpended/unobligated funding will be clawed back and redistributed among states in the following funding year.

Some of the RHT funding limitations include:

• Restrictions on "supplantation" of the state budget
• Restrictions on funding construction that increases property values
• Restrictions on funding for otherwise billable services that are already being reimbursed
• Provider payments cannot exceed 15% of the total award (just over $29 million)

Olson went through the current RHT program's 30 grant opportunitiesthat AHS has identified as part of the State's key initiatives:

1. Regionalization and Innovative Care Strategies
2. Clinically Integrated Network of Shared Services  
3. Strengthening Primary Care
4. Health Care Workforce Development 
5. Price Transparency and Insurance Competition

If you would like to get up to date RHT information or apply for one of their RFPs, AHS has an RHT Program page on the Office of Health Care Reform website which includes:

• A public contact form
• The project narrative and summary 
• Instructions to sign up for Vermont’s RHT email list for updates about notices of grant opportunities, RFIs, RFPs and other RHT news

MISC.

VMS Commissioner of Health Call Notes

The VMS was joined on Thursday, March 5th by the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Rick Hildebrant to discuss public health issues. View the notes from the call here.

Join us at our next call on April 2nd at 12:30pm by clicking here.

If you have questions that you would like to submit ahead of time for the Commissioner of Health, please submit them here.

Meeting ID: 867 2625 3105 / Password: 540684

One tap mobile - +1 646 876 9923,,86726253105#,,,,0#,,540684#

Dial In - +1 646 876 9923 / Meeting ID: 867 2625 3105 / Password: 540684

Registration Open for Remaining 2026 Legislative Breakfasts

Meet your lawmakers and advocate for health care policies over coffee and a light breakfast at our 2026 Legislative Breakfasts! These breakfasts, which will all be held in the cafeteria from 8-9am at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, are an informal opportunity to educate lawmakers on ways to improve Vermont's practice environment.

The Vermont Medical Society (VMS) will be trading off hosting the remaining breakfasts with the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter. 

Registration is now available! Register here. 

Vermont Medical Society - All MD, DO, PA and Medical Students Encouraged to Join

• April 29, 2026

Vermont Academy of Family Physicians

• April 1, 2026

American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter

• March 18, 2026
• April 15, 2026

Learn more and RSVP for any of the dates here. Please reach out to Jill Sudhoff-Guerin at jsudhoffguerin@vtmd.org if you have any questions.

VMS Financial Webinars - Early Career

Questioning your student loan strategy? Do you have the right amount of life and disability insurance? Are you maximizing opportunities to accumulate wealth and minimize taxes? Join us for an exclusive seminar for VMS members. We will discuss updates to SAVE and PSLF, important insurance concepts, and strategies to maximize accumulation during your early years as a physician.

May 19^th https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_p1JiCNFTRV2fTnOONFFOyQ

May 20^th https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6NOCymbIS-6pe88p6Yr6iw

EVENTS

AlpTerra Wilderness Medicine Course

March 12–16, October 1–5, October 8–12, 2026

Franconia, New Hampshire

Join Alpterra for an immersive, hands-on wilderness medicine course designed to prepare you for real-life scenarios in the outdoors. Treat mock injuries, problem-solve in the elements, and walk away with practical skills that stick.

• Max 4:1 participant-to-instructor ratio for highly personalized, discussion-driven learning.
• Accredited for up to 16 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ — an excellent use of your CME allowance.
• Stay on-site in a luxury home-style setting. Enjoy locally sourced, family-style meals tailored to dietary needs.
• Add-on trips let you ski, climb, or explore the White Mountains with expert guides before or after your course.

Learn more about the agenda and registration here.

March 21st - Waltham, MA

The focus of the conference will be “Preparing Health Care Teams: Meeting the Present and Preparing for the Future,” and will feature Dr. Ashish Jha as the keynote speaker.

The MMS would like to invite members of VMS and your staff team to join us for a day of in-person learning and professional networking. The attached flyer includes some basic information about the program and a dedicated discount code (FHB26NE) your members may use to register at the MMS member rate.

For more information or to register for the conference, please visit: futurehealthbest.org

March 30th, Zoom

Join the NERHA for an upcoming webinar exploring how artificial intelligence can support long-term financial sustainability for rural healthcare organizations.

Rural healthcare organizations face growing pressure from workforce shortages, administrative burden, and limited financial resources. In this session, participants will explore how AI-driven tools and agents can help organizations strengthen operational efficiency and support sustainable transformation efforts; particularly those aligned with Rural Hospital Transformation Program (RHT) initiatives.

In this webinar, you will learn how AI can:

• Expand workforce and practice capacity without adding headcount
• Improve revenue cycle performance and capture missed revenue
• Reduce operational costs while maintaining quality care
• Support sustainable rural health transformation through technology

Register here.

2026 Vascular and Cardiac Forum

April 7, 2026

DoubleTree by Hilton, South Burlington, VT

The Vascular and Cardiac Forum this year will provide primary care, internal medicine, urgent care, and physical therapy providers with education about a variety of vascular and cardiac conditions. The objectives are to improve accuracy and timeliness of the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions and efficiently use expert consultation in a value-based environment.

Please visit the conference website and registration link here.

AI in Medicine Conference

April 10, 2026

Delta Hotel by Marriott, South Burlington, VT

Join the University of Vermont for this inaugural conference exploring the applications of AI in medicine. This event is appropriate for physicians, physician assistants, nursing, advanced practitioners, researchers, and other interested professionals.

Please visit the conference website and registration link here.

2026 Collaborative Meeting

November 13 - 14, 2026

Stowe, VT

The 2026 Collaborative Meeting is taking place November  13th and 14th at Topnotch Resort in Stowe, Vermont. Please save the date and join us this Fall!

Stay up to date on additional details by visiting here. 

For more information about offerings from UVM CMIE, visit here.

Vermont Medical Society

PO Box 153

Williamstown, VT 05679

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