How much longer can Vt's hospitals operate in the red?

Saint Albans Messenger

A decade ago Northwestern Medical Center had 360 days cash on hand, the most of any hospital in Vermont. NMC also routinely proposed the smallest rate increase of all the state’s 14 hospitals. Financially, it was regarded as one of Vermont’s strongest hospitals. Fast forward to today and NMC finds itself in the red with projections that it will be operating 14 percent below its margin by 2028, four short years away. 

What happened?

The answer centers around the state’s quickly changing demographics, a regulatory reform process that, at times, was less than ideal, and, frankly, a lack of statewide leadership.

All of Vermont’s hospitals have been affected similarly; it’s not NMC’s problem by its lonesome. [In NMC’s case, it didn’t help when the Green Mountain Care Board ordered NMC to slash its cash on hand and to reduce its rates, a process from which NMC never fully recovered.]

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Citing 'extraordinary cost pressures,' BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont seeks to raise insurance rates further