BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The numbers are in. As the first hospitals begin to make their budget presentations to the Green Mountain Care Board, one conclusion was clear: there was no show of improvement in Vermont’s hospitals’ financial strain.
Rutland Regional, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, and Copley Hospital all asked the Green Mountain Care Board to approve their 2024 fiscal year budgets today.
According to chair Owen Foster, all reports showed a continuation of concern regarding hospital cash on hand and staffing pressures.
He adds that there’s increasing worry as hospitals report an uptick in visits and pharmaceutical use. While an increase in patients and meds isn’t necessarily a detriment to hospitals, the costs fall on the shoulders of commercial insurance payers who tell the Green Mountain Care Board that they’re struggling financially.
“Hospital budget submissions, again, highlight the need for hospital system re-design and transformation. The difficulty we’re seeing at the financial level for hospitals and insurers continues to persist, and the headwinds are not abating,” said Foster.
Budget presentations continue on Monday and will end in late August, and approvals will made in September.