By Olivia Gieger
The state’s main health care regulator approved budgets for all 14 of Vermont’s community hospitals during two hearings convened last week. The Green Mountain Care Board forced a reduction of almost $95 million to the revenue that hospitals can receive next year from commercial insurers, with the large majority cut from the budget of the University of Vermont Medical Center, the state’s largest hospital, based in the Burlington area.
The care board annually reviews the hospitals’ budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The process gives the board a way to place caps on what the hospitals can charge commercial insurers for services and how much revenue they can bring in as a result of those charges. continue reading