For years, Vermont lawmakers have aimed a barrage of legislation at a seemingly intractable and impossibly complex problem: health care costs are increasingly unaffordable for residents.

A Ukrainian man pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to his leadership role in two cyberattack schemes that caused tens of millions of dollars in losses and temporarily crippled a Vermont hospital in 2020, according to the Justice Department.

Nestled between New Hampshire and upstate New York, Vermont is a quiet, mostly rural state.

For those that skim, I’m keeping the intro brief in the hope that you dedicate more brain space to the budget piece, below:

If you read no other piece today, please scroll down just below this short note and read the powerful and beautifully articulated words of several of our state’s emergency department clinical leaders.

As emergency room doctors nationwide plead for help to ease patient overcrowding, the one federal program that could fix the crisis is poised to lose funding.

Depending on your insurance provider and hospital, the cost of medical procedures can vary immensely. Hospital pricing transparency laws have attempted to lower costs by creating competition.

While the policy committees keep up their quick pace, the appropriations committees received further detail on the budget last week.

More and more health care facilities across Vermont are putting a bigger focus on mental health care accessibility.

Vermont health officials earlier this month released the results of a report on how the state’s EMS system is working.

Last year, the Green Mountain Care Board flexed a newfound muscle.

Key players in Vermont's health care system are at odds over new proposed legislation. It would create sweeping changes to how health care is handled and regulated.

For our hospitals, the core mission is simple: preserving and increasing equitable access to quality care in rural Vermont. Meeting this mission is the tricky part.

Dear reader, apologies in advance, but this session is going to be short on intros and long on substance. Hope you’re ready to dive in for week 4’s recap:

The UVM Health Network suffers from a sustainability problem, according to its CEO, Sunny Eappen.

Is a program designed to alleviate Vermont’s nursing shortage taking a toll on regulators’ budget? Vermont’s interstate nursing licensure compact allows nurses and LPNs to practice across state lines, with the aim of bolstering the workforce.

Ultrasounds can be an important tool to address a variety of patients’ needs. But not all hospital employees are trained to use them. Now, officials at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury are working to address that gap in care.

We’re learning more about the state’s efforts to attract more health care workers to fill a staffing shortage at local hospitals and health centers.

Emergency medical service providers across Vermont are pleading with lawmakers to rescue a system they say is “in crisis.”