July 8, 2025

NEED TO KNOW

Registration Open for 2025 Collaborative Meeting

The 212th VMS Annual and Collaborative Meeting will be held on November 7th and 8th in-person with the option to join virtually for the Awards Ceremony. The weekend will be filled with educational content, time to spend with colleagues, policy-setting meetings, and the opportunity to honor physicians and other health care leaders across the state. VMS’ Annual Meeting, hosted in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and the Vermont Psychiatric Association, is a celebration of the unwavering commitment Vermont clinicians have to their practice and to the deep connection VMS members have with each other.

Topics include:

• Battling Misinformation
• AI Uses in Local Practices
• Medical Student and Resident Case Presentations
• Beyond Moral Injury - Reclaiming Agency, Belief, & Joy in Medicine
  
• Health Reform Panel Presentations with Discussions
  

Register today!

National Medical Associations File Suit Against HHS, Secretary Kennedy for Unilateral Vaccine Changes

The American College of Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and a pregnant patient, filed a lawsuit yesterday against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Kennedy for acting arbitrarily and capriciously when he unilaterally changed Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people.  The suit also challenges Secretary Kennedy for unjustly dismissing 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointing replacements who have historically espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints.  The lawsuit asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions to enjoin Secretary Kennedy’s rescissions of Covid vaccine recommendations and a declaratory judgment pronouncing the change in recommendations as unlawful.  For more information, see statements from the ACP and AAP.

Federal Tax Bill Threatens Health Coverage for 45,000 Vermonters

As reported last week in VT Digger and WCAX, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by Congress last week threatens both Vermont Medicaid and commercial coverage provided by Vermont’s Health Insurance Exchange.  While the full impacts on Vermont are still being analyzed, and are expected to be discussed at a meeting of Vermont’s legislative Joint Fiscal Committee on July 31^st, leaders of Vermont Medicaid’s program estimate that up to 30,000 Vermonters could lose Medicaid coverage and 15,000 could lose coverage through the health exchange.  The changes will also significantly increase administrative work for Vermont’s Medicaid and Exchange programs and limit funding mechanisms available to the state.

The impacts on exchange coverage are compounded by a final rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on June 20^th, some of which start to go into effect with the 2026 plan year.  Changes include:

• Immediately ending a monthly special enrollment period (SEP) for individuals with household incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level
• Shortening the annual open enrollment period
• Changing automatic re-enrollment policies
• Prohibiting coverage for gender affirming care services (plans may voluntarily do so but not as an “essential health benefit”)

Also adding to the barriers to coverage through the exchange, advanced premium tax credits, which can significantly lower the amount individuals need to pay towards their premiums, are slated to end in December.  This could nearly double expected payments towards premiums for some enrollees, leading to some dropping coverage, while increasing premiums for all remaining enrollees as sicker enrollees remain in the risk pool.

Many of the changes for Medicaid do not go into effect until 2026 or later but will have a substantial impact on Vermonters and the Vermont Medicaid program.  Among the required changes:

• The law implements a work requirement for individuals ages 19-64 applying for coverage or enrolled through the ACA expansion group (effective December 31, 2026 unless the state qualifies for an extension)
• Cuts the duration of Medicaid eligibility for adults in half, from 12 to 6 months, increasing the chance individuals lose coverage for failing to provide paperwork.
• Shortens Medicaid retroactive coverage from 3 months to 1 or 2 months, increasing uncompensated care.
• Limits funding mechanisms available for states to use to fund their portion of the Medicaid program, including provider taxes and state directed payments
• Effective immediately, bars Medicaid reimbursement to Planned Parenthood for all health care services, including contraceptive care and cancer screenings (implementation temporarily paused due to a successful legal challenge by Planned Parenthood).

VMS will continue to share information the impacts are further understood.  Reach out with questions to Jessa Barnard at jbarnard@vtmd.org.

 Physician Leadership Development Course Applications Deadline Extended to July 11th

The Vermont Medical Society is now partnering with the University of Vermont to offer a statewide physician leadership development course beginning in September 2025 and running until March 2026.   The course is designed to empower physician leaders across Vermont with the skills, knowledge, practical experience, and networking opportunities needed to foster effective team success. 

See the course information and FAQs here.

Applications are now due by July 11, 2025!

Applicants submit a brief statement of interest in the course and a CV. Apply here. If there are more interested candidates than seats, VMS will select participants with the goal of wide representation from practice types, specialties and locations.  (Please note, UVM Health Network physicians should apply separately  - learn more here.)

Key dates:

Contact Stephanie Winters at swinters@vtmd.org with questions.

MISC.

Larner College of Medicine Literary and Visual Arts Magazine Seeks Submissions

UVM Larner College of Medicine’s literary and visual arts magazine, The Red Wheelbarrow, is looking for submissions in the literary and visual arts! We particularly welcome work in the medical humanities, an interdisciplinary field that aims to make sense of medical practice, education, and human health and disease; non-medical work is also welcomed. The literary arts include prose, poetry, reporting, and personal essays. The visual arts include photography, painting, graphic design, drawing, and 3-D art (e.g., sculpture, ceramics, fiber). For 3-D submissions, please provide a picture of your work. Submissions can be submitted to the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9spta6 The deadline for submissions is August 1st, 2025 at 11:59 PM. Please reach out to redwheelbarrowuvm@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Survey: Training Opportunities in SUD Care

ADEPT Educational Institute has been awarded funds through the Vermont Department of Health Division of Substance Use to complete an evaluation of current training opportunities for Vermont clinicians and prescribers. 

The evaluation is designed to assess training opportunities in the following three categories:

1. Best practices on acute, subacute, and chronic pain including opioid prescribing,
2. Screening, diagnosis, and linkage to care and retention in care for opioid use disorder (OUD) and stimulant use disorder (StUD), and
3. Adoption of trauma-informed practices into health system and clinical staff policies and standards.

The survey can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C7N6V7K  

Don’t Miss This Free Course on Deprescribing (CEUs Available!)

Have you ever wondered about knowing when and how to deprescribe, or safely reducing or stopping medications that may no longer be beneficial for your patients?  

Whether you're a clinician, nurse, or another health care professional, understanding the principles of deprescribing can help reduce harm, improve outcomes, and support more thoughtful, person-centered care. 

In the free course Deprescribing: A Multipart Series, Sydney Springer, PharmD, MS, BCPS, BCGP, takes you through three different modules: 

• Introduction to Deprescribing,
• Deprescribing in Dementia, and
• Having the Patient Conversation.

REGISTER HERE!  

Back for 2025, Quarterly Financial Webinars Hosted by Pinnacle Wealth (FKA Pastore Financial Group). 

Pinnacle Wealth has been a supporter of VMS for decades. Our independent, fiduciary advisors will share insights to help you on your financial journey.  Can’t make the webinar but have questions? Please email info@pinnaclevt.com for an individual meeting.

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.

Register for Tuesday evening, July 8th from 7-8pm 

Approaching Retirement: Are you confident in your retirement plan? Concerned about market volatility? Do you have a strategy to protect your investments while maximizing returns? Join us for an exclusive retirement planning seminar for VMS members.  We will discuss key strategies to secure your financial future and enhance your investment growth in today’s unpredictable market.

Register for Thursday evening, July 10th from 7-8pm 

EVENTS

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

Vermont Medical Society

134 Main Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

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