Regulators may get more flexible on UVMMC mental health care investment
VTDigger
On its face, the question the Green Mountain Care Board will decide over the coming two weeks is bureaucratic. But to Vermonters struggling to access mental health treatment for themselves or loved ones, the answer is anything but mundane.
Should the board allow Burlington’s University of Vermont Medical Center to divert what remains of $21 million in surplus health care revenue from 2017 away from a plan to construct a new hospital-based inpatient psychiatric facility?
The alternative would be a wider range of investments to increase mental health care capacity determined in conjunction with the Vermont Department of Mental Health. The board is seeking public comment on the question in advance of a possible March 8 vote.
The care board’s staff recommend loosening the board’s requirements.