The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18 : Health

Chapter 221 : Health Care Administration

Subchapter 001 : QUALITY, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND COST CONTAINMENT

• § 9403. Statewide Health Care Delivery Strategic Plan

  (a) The Agency of Human Services, in collaboration with the Green Mountain Care Board, the Department of Financial Regulation, the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care, the Office of the Health Care Advocate, the Health Care Delivery Advisory Committee established in section 9403a of this title, the Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Health Care established pursuant to section 9403b of this title, and other interested stakeholders, shall lead development of an integrated Statewide Health Care Delivery Strategic Plan as set forth in this section.

  (b) The Plan shall:

  (1) Align with the principles for health care reform expressed in section 9371 of this title.

  (2) Identify existing services and promote universal access across Vermont to high-quality, cost-effective acute care; primary care, including primary mental health services; chronic care; long-term care; substance use disorder treatment services; emergency medical services; nonemergency medical services; nonmedical services and supports; and hospital-based, independent, and community-based services.

  (3) Define a shared vision and shared goals and objectives for improving access to and the quality, efficiency, and affordability of health care services in Vermont and for reducing disparities in access resulting from demographic factors or health status, including benchmarks for evaluating progress.

  (4) Identify the resources, infrastructure, and support needed to achieve established targets, which will ensure the feasibility and sustainability of implementation.

  (5) Provide a phased implementation timeline with milestones and regular reporting to ensure adaptability as needs evolve.

  (6) Promote accountability and continuous quality improvement across Vermont’s health care system through the use of data, scientifically grounded methods, and high-quality performance metrics to evaluate effectiveness and inform decision making.

  (7) Provide annual targets for the total cost of care across Vermont’s health care system. Using these total cost of care targets, the Plan shall identify appropriate allocations of health care resources and services across the State that balance quality, access, and cost containment. The Plan shall also establish targets for the percentages of overall health care spending that should reflect spending on primary care services, including mental health services, and on preventive care services, which targets shall be aligned with the total cost of care targets.

  (8) Build on data and information from:

  (A) the transformation planning resulting from 2022 Acts and Resolves No. 167, Secs. 1 and 2;

  (B) the expenditure analysis and health care spending estimate developed pursuant to section 9383 of this title;

  (C) the State Health Improvement Plan adopted pursuant to subsection 9405(a) of this title;

  (D) the Health Resource Allocation Plan published by the Green Mountain Care Board in accordance with subsection 9405(b) of this title;

  (E) hospitals’ community health needs assessments and strategic planning conducted in accordance with section 9405a of this title;

  (F) hospital and ambulatory surgical center quality information published by the Department of Health pursuant to section 9405b of this title;

  (G) the statewide quality assurance program maintained by the Vermont Program for Quality in Health Care pursuant to section 9416 of this title;

  (H) the 2020 report determining the proportion of health care spending in Vermont that is allocated to primary care, submitted to the General Assembly by the Green Mountain Care Board and the Department of Vermont Health Access in accordance with 2019 Acts and Resolves No. 17, Sec. 2;

  (I) the 2024 report on Blueprint for Health payments to patient-centered medical homes, submitted to the General Assembly by the Agency of Human Services in accordance with 2023 Acts and Resolves No. 51, Sec. 5; and

  (J) such additional sources of data and information as the Agency and other stakeholders deem appropriate.

  (9) Identify:

  (A) opportunities to improve the quality of care across the health care delivery system, including exemplars of high-quality care to stimulate best practice dissemination;

  (B) gaps in access to care, as well as unnecessary duplication of services, including circumstances in which service closures or consolidations may result in improvements in quality, access, and affordability;

  (C) opportunities to reduce administrative burdens;

  (D) federal, State, and other barriers to achieving the Plan’s goals and, to the extent feasible, how those barriers can be removed or mitigated;

  (E) priorities in steps for achieving the goals of the Plan;

  (F) barriers to access to appropriate mental health and substance use disorder services that meet standards of quality, access, and affordability equivalent to other components of health care;

  (G) opportunities to integrate health care services for individuals in the custody of the Department of Corrections as part of Vermont’s health care delivery system;

  (H) enhancements in quality reporting and data collection to provide a more current and accurate picture of the quality of health care delivery across Vermont; and

  (I) systems to ensure that reported data is shared with and is accessible to the health care professionals who are providing care, enabling them to track performance and inform improvement.

  (c) State agencies shall cooperate with all reasonable requests from the Agency of Human Services for data and other information and assistance needed for the Agency to prepare and update the Plan pursuant to this section.

  (d)(1) In 2025 and 2026, the Agency of Human Services shall engage with stakeholders; collect and analyze data; gather information obtained through the processes established in 2022 Acts and Resolves No. 167, Secs. 1 and 2; and solicit input from the public.

  (2) In 2027, the Agency shall prepare the Plan.

  (3) On or before January 15, 2028, the Agency shall provide the Plan to the House Committees on Health Care and on Human Services and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.

  (4) The Agency shall prepare an updated Plan every three years and shall provide it to the General Assembly on or before December 1 of every third year, beginning on December 1, 2030. (Added 2025, No. 68, § 8, eff. June 12, 2025.)