Copley Hospital, in Morristown, is asking state regulators to approve a rare mid-year price increase on the hospital’s services.
During the last budget process, Copley asked the Green Mountain Care Board to approve a 15% change in charge, but during a very difficult post-COVID-19 budget year, the board slashed many hospital requests, including Copley’s.
The board ultimately authorized Copley to raise its prices by 8%, and Copley CEO Joseph Woodin said at this point in the fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1, 2023, the hospital is losing money and is dangerously low on cash.
“We’re just not making sufficient money,” Woodin said. “And the root cause of that is the beginning of the calculation of all of what we do, and that is, 'What are your prices? What are your charges? What’s on the bill?'”
Copley Hospital, which is one of the smallest hospitals in Vermont, has been facing financial headwinds for years.
The hospital received a bump during the COVID-19 pandemic when it received almost $5 million in federal pandemic relief. But outside of the pandemic funding, they have been losing money every year since 2016.
Copley Hospital has lost more than $8 million since 2016, aside from 2021, during the COVID-19 relief.
“It’s not working. We’re running out of fuel, and the closer we get to that, I just want to be more clear to people that it’s not working. I don’t want somebody to be surprised. We were all surprised when Springfield declared bankruptcy.”Joseph Woodin, Copley Hospital CEO
Woodin said the projected deficit this year, if the Green Mountain Care Board rejects their request, will approach $3 million. He said the hospital has a dangerously low amount of cash available to meet its obligations.
It was about five years ago when another Vermont medical center, Springfield Hospital, declared bankruptcy while facing similar circumstances.
“It’s not working,” Woodin said. “We’re running out of fuel, and the closer we get to that, I just want to be more clear to people that it’s not working. I don’t want somebody to be surprised. We were all surprised when Springfield declared bankruptcy.”
The Green Mountain Care Board, which also considers mid-year pricing adjustments, will debate the Copley situation at its meeting Wednesday.
The financial crisis at Copley Hospital is coming to light just as the Green Mountain Care Board is getting ready to begin a new round of budget hearings for fiscal year 2025.
Vermont has the second highest growth in hospital spending per capita since 1991, according to Green Mountain Care Board data, and the board will once again be forced to keep hospital budgets in line as the organizations face inflation, workforce shortages and an aging demographic that is requiring more healthcare services.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, the state’s largest insurance company, has come out against Copley’s request to raise its prices this year.
“Vermonters are struggling to afford their tax bills,” Sara Teachout, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont media relations director, wrote to the board. “A significant portion of those increases are due to healthcare costs. Household budgets are being stretched to a breaking point statewide.”
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