April 29, 2025

NEED TO KNOW

FY26 Budget Advances to the Senate Floor, while House Health Care Continues Health Reform Bill

This week the Senate is scheduled to take up the FY26 Budget proposal, which unanimously passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee last Thursday. Prior to passage the Committee included an amendment asking the Agency of Human Services to provide a January 2026 report back on how the UVMHN primary care settlement dollars were allocated in order to determine if there was any duplication with state appropriations in funding the ACO bridge funding. The Senate budget proposal currently includes the ACO bridge funding that passed out of the House:

$4.4m GF/$10.8m GC for the Blueprint for Health Community Health Team CHT, Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH) and SASH program (filling the full need);
$3.12m GF for the OneCare Vermont Population Health Management (PHM) Program for all participating primary care practices (out of $4.6 m need);
$835K GF for the Comprehensive Payment Reform (CPR) for independent primary care practices (filling full need).

The Senate Appropriations Committee also incorporated $10 million in provider stabilization funds that was originally in the FY2025 mid-year budget adjustment bill that Governor Scott vetoed. The Senate floor will debate the FY26 Budget on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and then it will go to a Conference Committee with House and Senate Appropriations members.

S. 28, the bill to strengthen and update the State’s shield laws protecting access to reproductive and gender affirming care services, has passed the full Legislature and advances to the Governor's desk.

After extensive, section-by-section testimony in the House Health Care Committee last week on S. 126, the Committee aims to get to work this week on adding areas of improvement to the bill. Last Friday, Chair Black invited members of the Green Mountain Care Board's Primary Care Advisory Group including Fay Homan, M.D., VMS President Katie Marvin, M.D., and Michelle Wade, President of the Vermont Nurse Practitioners Association to provide their recommendations on how to center primary care within Vermont's health care transformation process. Click here to read Dr. Homan's testimony and Dr. Marvin's testimony, which include suggestions aimed at increasing access and lowering cost for care through increasing spending on primary care services, creating positions that give primary care decision-making authority and building a primary care workforce pipeline in Vermont. VMS submitted proposed language today that would strengthen the emphasis on primary care within S. 126. With a projected extended timeline before adjournment, the Committee has time to analyze changes to the bill language.

VMS Board Seeking Resolution Feedback by May 20th

The VMS Board is seeking member feedback on a policy resolution related to:

Clinical Input Into Health Reform

The full text of the Resolution is available here.

All members will received a survey link specific to you by the end of the day Tuesday, April 22nd. If you did not receive your survey link or have any questions or concerns with completing the survey, please contact bpauley@vtmd.org.

The survey will be open for member comment between April 22, 2025 and May 20, 2025 The resolutions will be discussed together with the feedback received from members by the VMS Board at its June 18th Board Meeting.

Free Technical Assistance Offering for Vermont Primary Care Practices – Apply by May 23rd

The Blueprint for Health has been working with AHS Health Care Reform, DVHA, VMS, Health First, BiState, GMCB, and other stakeholders to help identify the need for and design interventions to support primary care practices. We know that primary care providers and Vermonters are concerned about:

Keeping practices open for business
Getting and/ or keeping access to primary care for all Vermonters
Staffing practices adequately and providing team-based care
Keeping pace with the investments and changes needed for a changing healthcare landscape.

What is the Focus of Technical Assistance from RHRC to Primary Care Practices?

As a part of AHS’s health system transformation efforts, AHS has engaged the Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) to provide technical assistance to hospitals and primary care practices, free of charge. Practices can apply for free consultative services provided by the RHRC to address the following areas:

Financial Health
Population Health and Access
Team-Based Care Staffing
Digital Transformation

What will a Primary Care Practice Receive for Participating in Technical Assistance?

At the completion of technical assistance, practices can expect to walk away with one or more of the following:

Defined strategy to enable their practice to understand and respond to changing healthcare landscape
Strengthened care delivery models
Strengthened financial management and fiscal governance functions of the organization
Identified opportunities to sustain or enhance/increase practice capacity to serve patients requiring primary care services.

How and when will Practices Receive this Technical Assistance?

Practices will need to complete a referral form by Friday, May 23, 2025. Technical assistance projects will occur between June 2025 – December 2025.

The referral form includes a practice self-assessment and space to indicate general requests for technical assistance
Submission of the referral form will prompt a discovery call between RHRC and the practice to refine needs, goals, and organizational capability to engage in Technical Assistance
If demand exceeds expected resources that have been allocated, AHS and RHRC will be reviewing and prioritizing proposed projects.

Complete the referral form today on your own or with assistance from the Blueprint for Health Program Manager and/or Quality Improvement Facilitator to start the conversation with the Rural Health Redesign Center to determine if and how they best can support your organization.

MISC.

Mildred Reardon Medical Student Scholarship Deadline Extended to May 2^nd

Do you dream of becoming a Vermont doctor?

The Vermont Medical Society’s Education and Research Foundation (VMSERF) is accepting applications through Friday, May 2nd 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. Click here for more information and details on applying for the scholarship – noting the new application deadline.

Vermont APRN Workforce Census Data Released

The 2023 Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) detailed workforce report is now posted to healthvermont.gov/health-care-workforce-reports.

Highlights from the report include:

993 APRNs are actively practicing in Vermont and provide 667.8 full-time equivalents (FTEs). There are 456 primary care APRNs providing 323.5 FTEs and 537 specialty care APRNs providing 344.3 FTEs.
FTEs are continuing to increase over time and for the first time since 2015, there are more specialty care APRN FTEs than primary care.
The percentage of primary care APRNs accepting new patients, including new patients on Medicaid or Medicare, is declining – continuing a decreasing trend first seen in the 2017 census.

Update to Medicaid’s Audio-Only Allowable Codes

Effective 5/1/2025, Vermont Medicaid will allow the delivery of AMA CPT codes for audio-only telehealth services for new patient visits. Coverage for established patient visits using Synchronous Audio-Only Evaluation and Management Services were previously approved, and effective 1/1/2025. The updated and defined list of audio-only codes covered by Vermont Medicaid is available at: https://dvha.vermont.gov/providers/telehealth.

PlanWell - Planning for Retirement Webinar

Join PlanWell for a Planning for Retirement webinar on Tuesday, May 2th at 5pm.

Retirement is often the first thing we think about when we talk about our overall

financial well-being. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of retirement planning

and what strategies you can use to secure your plan. We’ll cover how to envision your retirement, how to build your retirement strategy, different sources of retirement

income, and key risks to consider.

View the flyer for the event here and register here.

AMA Advocacy Insights Webinar Series: The Current and Future Landscape of Health Care AI Policy

Featured topic and speakers

Join us for a discussion about the ongoing development of augmented intelligence (AI) policy in health care. AI continues to be top of mind for policymakers interested in supporting innovation and the promised benefits of AI while also addressing ongoing concerns around patient safety, the need to ensure accuracy of AI systems, and the importance of keeping a physician in the loop in the delivery of health care. During the webinar, you will hear about the ongoing development of AI policy from a national perspective, learn about the evolving federal landscape, and hear how state lawmakers are addressing AI in health care, particularly related to transparency and payer use of AI.

Host

Bruce A. Scott, MD, president, AMA

Speakers

Jared Augenstein, senior managing director, Manatt Health
Emily Carroll, JD, senior attorney, Advocacy Resource Center, AMA
Shannon Curtis, JD, assistant director, Federal Affairs, AMA
Kim Horvath, JD, senior attorney, Advocacy Resource Center, AMA

When

May 13, 2025, 11:30 A.M., Central

Register

Registration is open.

EVENTS

Reimagining Primary Care: Innovation, Technology and Policy for a Healthier Future
May 12th - 1 PM to 2 PM EST

As primary care innovations continue to improve population health, it’s crucial for providers, policy makers, advocates and technology companies to stay knowledgeable about the future of this service.

Join Manatt Health and the Primary Care Development Corporation for an interactive webinar to learn more about best practices and hear from industry leaders in care delivery, investment and access.

This webinar will provide insight into the envisioned future and tackle real life issues.

Learn more details here and register here.