BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Now that the Green Mountain Care Board report has been released, it’s time for implementation. That process will be led by Vermont’s Agency of Human Services.
Brendan Krause is the director of health care reform at Vermont’s Agency of Human Services. He’s spearheading the hospital transformation and sustainability implementation project within the department and outside of it.
“[We’re] embedded in local communities that support primary care, that provide care coordination for people with multiple chronic conditions, that help to navigate other social services for people who are experiencing health-related social needs… This is an opportunity for us to really sit down with these hospitals and listen to their concerns and listen to their goals and support them,” said Krause.
Right now, the Agency of Human Services is in conversation with hospital CEOs around the state about what recommendations can be implemented from the report, and which ones could be too risky.
“This is like a hurricane. It’s predictable within certain limits. [If y]ou can see it coming, you can plan for it,” said Dr. Bruce Hamory with Oliver Wyman Consulting.
Dr. Hamory conducted hundreds of interviews, over a dozen public meetings, and several investigations into Vermont’s healthcare system and hospital finances. His top recommendations to keep hospitals open and health care accessible and affordable, are to build housing, move to reference-based pricing, and move care out of hospitals.
“As those costs go up, and you can’t afford to keep increasing the number of dollars you give, you have to change the way the care is delivered,” said Dr. Hamory.
Each hospital has its own set of recommendations. Whether or not they will be implemented is up to each non-profit’s administration.
The Agency of Human Services says some hospitals are already implementing the recommendations on their own, but Dr. Hamory says as of now, he’s not seeing much improvement. “The budget submissions that were just sent to the Green Mountain care board and the budgets approved, those trends are not changing,” he said.
The next step for the Agency of Human Services is to select a consultant to help with the implementation process. The agency has received a round of bids and says they will choose that person within the next six weeks.