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NEED TO KNOW
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House Appropriations Includes Significant Bridge Funding for Primary Care
Thank you to everyone who reached out to the House Appropriations Committee over the last month to advocate for primary care funding that fills the gap that will occur due to the State's decision to postpone advancing to the AHEAD model until Jan. 2027 and the end of OneCare Vermont Dec. 2025. Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee passed their version of the FY26 Budget unanimously, which includes a significant portion of the bridge funding needed for primary care and a rate increase for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). With very little available funding, the Committee accepted very few additions beyond the FY26 Governor's Recommended Budget. The version going to the House floor includes:
- $4.4m GF/$10.8m GC for the Blueprint for Health Community Health Team CHT, Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH) and SASH program – fills full need;
- $3.12m GF for the OneCare Vermont Population Health Management (PHM) Program - the full need is $4.6m;
- $835K GF for the Comprehensive Payment Reform (CPR) – fills full need;
The Vermont Medical Society policy team will work in the Senate to advocate for the full OneCare VT PHM program funding, as well as the Blueprint Mental Health Integration Pilot funding and support for the Maple Mountain family medicine residency program and workforce needs. Look for action alerts targeting the Senate in the coming weeks. Thank you again for all of your advocacy. This week the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and House Health Care Committees will start looking at bills that passed the other bodies before crossover. |
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Trump Administration States AHEAD Model Will Continue
According to Vermont Agency of Human Services health reform staff, on March 12th the Trump Administration announced that the AHEAD payment reform model will continue. The State has also been back in contact with staff at CMS regarding the Model – communication between the State and CMS was paused during the initial change in Administration, as was anticipated. The media also covered the Administration’s plans to end several other payment reform models, but continue with AHEAD. CMS has communicated to Vermont that there will be changes proposed to the Model but changes have not been communicated in writing and Vermont’s signatories to the Model – the Governor, the Secretary of the Agency of Human Services, and the Green Mountain Care Board - will have to reassess participating in the Model once the changes are fully known. |
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Blueprint Offers Support for Patient-Centered Medical Home MIPS Participation
The decision by Vermont to not participate in the federal AHEAD Model before 2027 means that some practices in Vermont will be required to complete Merit Based Inventive Payment System (MIPS) reporting in 2026. The Blueprint for Health Quality Improvement (QI) Facilitators, along with partners such as Healthcentric Advisors, will support Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) to understand the requirements of MIPS, optimize MIPS performance, and navigate administrative requirements for submission. As a starting point, QI Facilitators helping practices understand if they are eligible and what steps to take next.
If a PCMH provider is required to submit MIPS in 2026, a QI Facilitator can help bring in MIPS experts to support providers/practices decide what reporting option to use, understand the MIPS reporting categories, and choose a reporting method. QI Facilitators can also help align MIPS work with Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) quality activities and other important quality and payment initiatives. To get started, see FAQs about MIPS for Primary Care Providers in Vermont and Steps for Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Participation. Reach out to your QI Facilitator with additional questions. |
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Clinician Wellbeing Workshops Available at No Cost for 2025
VMS is pleased to continue our partnership with Doug Wysockey-Johnson of Lumunos Clinician Well-Being Services to provide up to 9 practices/medical staffs no-cost clinician wellbeing workshops over 2025.
Lumunos Clinician Well-Being Workshops are designed to support clinicians in meeting the demands of modern health care. Workshops are built around Lumunos’ daily experience working with physicians, nurses, APPs and clinical leaders across the country. These meetings are designed to be efficient, effective and interactive, with topics that directly address the biggest challenges clinicians face daily. Workshops are led by Doug Wysockey-Johnson, Workplace Program Facilitator of Lumunos, a seasoned facilitator with 20 years of experience leading clinician groups
New topics available for 2025 include: Creating a Positive Team Culture; Work/Home Boundaries; Hope; and Compassion (Fatigue). Click here for more details and to see the full list of available topics.
Doug is also partnering with VMS for the first time in 2025 to offer no cost coaching sessions to a select number of VMS members. Read more here. Contact Jessa at jbarnard@vtmd.org or Doug at doug@lumunos.org with additional questions or to book a workshop or coaching session. |
MISC.
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Mildred Reardon Medical Student Scholarship Open for Applications
Do you dream of becoming a Vermont doctor?
The Vermont Medical Society’s Education and Research Foundation (VMSERF) is now accepting applications for the Mildred Reardon scholarship, which awards $10,000 to a University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine third year student committed to practicing medicine in Vermont.
The scholarship is made to a student interested in any specialty, with a preference for specialties in high need in Vermont. The scholarship is tuition-linked and is paid directly to the College of Medicine towards tuition. Applications are due April 25, 2025. Click here for more information and details on applying for the scholarship. |
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Input Sought on Health System Transformation Data Needs
Faulkner Consulting Group and Freedman HealthCare have been engaged by the Vermont Agency of Human Services to explore the data and analytic needs of clinicians and facilities participating in health system transformation and to recommend options to meet these needs. They are requesting input from health care professionals to ensure that the options they recommend are anchored in on the ground needs and perspectives. Please see their survey here. Please feel free to only complete the questions that are applicable or to provide feedback via email instead to: ebackus@freedmanhealthcare.com and kmartin@freedmanhealthcare.com. |
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Let Your Patients Know: Members Needed for Medicaid Beneficiary Advisory Committee
Vermonters can join the state Medicaid’s new Beneficiary Advisory Committee and get paid to share their experience with the program. Their voices can support policy and program changes.
Please share this information and encourage those interested to apply. Learn more here. |
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Act 111/Department Financial Regulation Guidance- Lunch and Learn – April 4
On April 4th from 12-1pm join the Director of Health Insurance Regulation at the Department of Financial Regulation, Sebastian Arduengo, for a walk through of the Act 111 DFR Guidance. This guidance provides details for payers and practices regarding how to implement Act 111’s changes to prior authorization and other insurance practices.
View the guidance here.
Join the meeting:
Microsoft Teams - Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 223 678 480 489 / Passcode: mA73fm7y
Dial in by phone - +1 802-828-7667,,963404137# |
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Vermont Retirement Systems Seek Member for Medical Review Board
Vermont’s three public retirement systems seek a licensed physician to be a member of the State’s Medical Review Board (MRB). The MRB is a State Board comprised of three physicians that reviews and makes recommendations on applications for disability retirement benefits. The Board is staffed by employees of the Retirement Division, which is housed in the State Treasurer’s Office. The position involves a limited commitment of approximately 6 hours/month. For more information about the position, please see here. Interested candidates should send a resume and statement of interest to Briana.Howard@vermont.gov. |
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New Options to Avoid a MIPS Penalty Due to Nationwide IV Fluid Shortage
In response to AMA advocacy urging CMS to hold physicians harmless from Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) penalties as a result of the nationwide IV fluid shortage and to reopen the MIPS Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) hardship exception, the agency announced that it will accept new applications to avoid a MIPS penalty.
Physicians will be able to submit an EUC hardship exception application between March 31, 2025, and April 14, 2025, to avoid a MIPS penalty of up to -9% if they were affected by the shortage. This hardship exception will apply to the 2024 performance period, which will adjust Medicare payments in 2026. To avoid a MIPS penalty, physicians who were affected by the IV fluid shortage should submit an EUC application requesting reweighting of all four MIPS categories – quality, cost, promoting interoperability, and improvement activities. Note that CMS will not reweight any performance category for which the agency has received data. However, if three performance categories are reweighted to 0% and only one performance category can be scored, then the physician or group will earn a final score equal to the performance threshold and avoid a MIPS penalty. Additionally, because the MIPS cost performance category relies entirely on claims-based measures that do not require submission from physicians or groups, we recommend requesting reweighting of this category if a physician or group needed to conserve IV fluids, use alternatives, restrict access to elective surgery or take any other measures due to the nationwide IV fluid shortage. In addition, CMS is extending the MIPS data submission window for the 2024 performance period for two weeks from March 31, 2025, until April 14, 2025, at 8 pm ET. Download this factsheet for more information |
EVENTS
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Learning Collaboratives on In-Basket Reduction and Reducing Regulatory Burden
February 2025 – 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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The New England MGMA 2025 Annual Conference
April 24-25, 2025
Join the New England MGMA 2025 Annual Conference Tools for Today, Vision for Tomorrow: Navigating Challenges and Unlocking Po, an essential event for medical society professionals seeking to gain valuable insights, network with industry leaders, and stay ahead in the evolving healthcare landscape. This conference is hosted by Massachusetts/Rhode Island MGMA, New Hampshire/Vermont MGMA, and Maine MGMA. The conference is offering an exciting mix of speakers and topics! Explore innovative approaches and practical tools designed to enhance patient care, streamline operations and drive business growth. Take part in interactive sessions and build your network with professionals dedicated to integrating innovation with healthcare priorities, ensuring a healthier future for all. View the full schedule and register for the conference here.
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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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