BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The UVM Medical Center and other Vermont hospitals last week began their budget presentations to Vermont regulators and one conclusion is clear — many are under financial strain. During a briefing Friday, UVMMC officials announced their priorities and budget changes going into the next fiscal year and called for statewide reforms to address affordability.
As Vermont’s population ages, UVMMC officials say the cost of patient care is also changing.
“We’re paying our staff more, equipment is more, pharmaceuticals that we’re using for our patients are costing more. But even in that environment, we’re being as cost-efficient as we can and providing the best possible care that we can at all of our sites,” said UVMMC president Stephen Leffler.
He says all three of the network’s major hospitals are seeking budget increases from state regulators. UVMMC is requesting a nearly eight percent increase. Central Vermont Medical Center is asking for a six-and-a-half percent increase. And Porter Hospital is asking for just shy of three percent.
“Because our state is not growing fast enough to kind of keep pace with the aging population that we have. That’s where the burden is falling — on the smaller and smaller group of commercially insured,” said UVMMC’s Rick Vincent.
The hospital says it’s already cut $20 million in administrative positions over the last year and that without a bigger budget, cuts to services might be on the table. “That might actually cause us to take a look at the volume of services we’re providing and make some decisions on cuts that we’d have to make,” Vincent said.
While the hospital projects a nine percent increase in revenue next year from more patient visits, officials say expenses will rise as well.
They say the budget bump will cover costs for new equipment, a bigger neonatal intensive care unit, and a new outpatient surgery center.
But all of this means more money out-of-pocket for patients.
“We firmly believe there are things we can do as a state — all parts of the state together, the health system, the Legislature, our regulators — to bring down commercial premiums. We have to work on it together,” Leffler said. He adds that the network remains focused on improving access to care and growing its workforce.
The Green Mountain Care Board is expected to act on the budget requests by October.