Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Vermont's Health Care Reform Revenue Shrinks
The House and Senate approved a dramatically-reduced compromise health care reform bill late Saturday. ... The compromise health care reform plan continues $760,000 in cost-sharing subsidies for low-income Vermonters, [Rep. Bill] Lippert said. The health care committees had wanted to expand the subsidies to middle-income residents with high deductibles and copay amounts, but that provision was removed from the bill due to the revenue limitations. ... About $940,000 will help stabilize Medicaid reimbursements to health care providers. ... Some $1 million is earmarked for the state's Blueprint for Health managed care system. The bill also provides $300,000 in educational loan repayments for physicians, the cost of which is split between state and federal sources. ... The bill added three new positions to the Green Mountain Care Board to start setting rates for health care providers and pursuing an all-payer model. (Achen, 5/16)
A showdown over taxes between the Democratic governor and lawmakers from his own party finally ended Saturday afternoon when a grand bargain eliminated the prospect of a veto, and paved the way for the fall of the gavel on the 2015 legislative session. ... The tax deal struck Saturday is perhaps most notable for the revenue mechanism it does not include. Shumlin back in January unveiled a $90 million payroll tax he said would rectify structural shortcomings in a troubled Medicaid program. Shumlin said low reimbursement rates for the government insurance programs were restricting low-income patients鈥 access to care, while simultaneously inflating insurance plans sold by private carriers. The payroll tax plan never gained any traction, however, and the various funding alternatives considered by lawmakers, including a 2-cent per-ounce tax on sugary beverages, also fell flat. (Hirschfeld, 5/16)
Lawmakers and the governor reached a deal to pass a health care package that, as one senator put it, will 鈥渒eep the lights on鈥 for health care reform. The package contains $3.2 million in new state health care spending, which is eligible for roughly another $3 million in federal match. The money will be used to level-fund exchange subsidies for out-of-pocket costs, target increases to Medicaid rates and invest in initiatives to strengthen the primary care system. (True, 5/17)
