Legislative Update: 3/21 Second Crossover
Devon Green, VP of Government Relations
Second Crossover
We already had crossover for the pure policy bills, but any bill with a fee or appropriation attached to it needed to pass out of the money committees last week. As of this writing, the budget bill has not been finalized, but there were plenty of last minute amendments and maneuvering on other bills to keep us on our toes.
Workforce: The governor signed into law the FY’22 Budget Adjustment Act, which includes $15 million in a recruitment and retention grant funding program open to hospitals and other providers.
Health Care Reform: On Friday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations amended S.285 to require greater coordination between the Green Mountain Care Board and the Agency of Human Services and added oversight by the Health Reform Oversight Committee. The Agency of Human Services can only allocate $1 million to the Green Mountain Care Board prior to Oct. 1, 2022. For the Green Mountain Care Board to receive the remaining funding, the Green Mountain Care Board and Agency of Human Services must present a detailed plan for the funding that includes short-, mid-, and longer-term strategies to address workforce challenges in health care and human services to the Health Care Oversight Committee by Oct. 1, 2022.
Mental Health: The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced S.195, the bill that creates peer support certification and establishment of four new peer-operated respite centers. Funding for the respite centers is still to be determined in the budget.
Freestanding Birth Centers: The Senate Finance Committee had a last-minute amendment to eliminate the explicit addition of freestanding birth centers to the Certificate of Need process. Some senators were concerned about continually adding new services to the Certificate of Need process. Sen. Cummings noted the potential impact of freestanding birth centers on the financial viability of hospital birthing units and that money committees do not typically do policy work without hearing from witnesses. Ultimately, the amendment failed, but VAHHS suggests that any service with regulations requiring that hospital services be accessible, such as ambulatory surgical centers and birth centers, should undergo a CON process.
Second Crossover
We already had crossover for the pure policy bills, but any bill with a fee or appropriation attached to it needed to pass out of the money committees last week. As of this writing, the budget bill has not been finalized, but there were plenty of last minute amendments and maneuvering on other bills to keep us on our toes.
Workforce: The governor signed into law the FY’22 Budget Adjustment Act, which includes $15 million in a recruitment and retention grant funding program open to hospitals and other providers.
Health Care Reform: On Friday afternoon, the Senate Appropriations amended S.285 to require greater coordination between the Green Mountain Care Board and the Agency of Human Services and added oversight by the Health Reform Oversight Committee. The Agency of Human Services can only allocate $1 million to the Green Mountain Care Board prior to Oct. 1, 2022. For the Green Mountain Care Board to receive the remaining funding, the Green Mountain Care Board and Agency of Human Services must present a detailed plan for the funding that includes short-, mid-, and longer-term strategies to address workforce challenges in health care and human services to the Health Care Oversight Committee by Oct. 1, 2022.
Mental Health: The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced S.195, the bill that creates peer support certification and establishment of four new peer-operated respite centers. Funding for the respite centers is still to be determined in the budget.
Freestanding Birth Centers: The Senate Finance Committee had a last-minute amendment to eliminate the explicit addition of freestanding birth centers to the Certificate of Need process. Some senators were concerned about continually adding new services to the Certificate of Need process. Sen. Cummings noted the potential impact of freestanding birth centers on the financial viability of hospital birthing units and that money committees do not typically do policy work without hearing from witnesses. Ultimately, the amendment failed, but VAHHS suggests that any service with regulations requiring that hospital services be accessible, such as ambulatory surgical centers and birth centers, should undergo a CON process.
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Legislative Update 3/14: Crossover Week Legislative Halftime
Legislative Update 3/14: Crossover Week Legislative Halftime
