Green Mountain Care Board

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington is set to build a new 12-bed psychiatric unit for adolescents. This comes as state health officials say they're seeing an increase of youth with symptoms of mental illness that require inpatient care.

Owen Foster, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, warns of steep insurance rate increases and service cuts.

After going over budget by more than $100 million over two years, UVM Medical Center has put forward a compromise to state regulators.

An exception is the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, which made over $60 million providing patient care last year.

The hospital system has said dialysis clinics in St. Albans, Rutland and Newport will remain open as they look for alternative providers. At Central Vermont Medical Center, hospital leaders plan to close the in-patient psych unit, and they'll consolidate several community clinics.

The health network announced a range of planned cuts, including closing an inpatient psychiatric unit, ending operation of kidney dialysis centers, and admitting fewer patients for overnight hospital care.

The accountable care organization will close by the end of 2025. OneCare worked to lower health care costs and improve patient outcomes by moving away from a fee-for-service payment model.

The public forum, hosted by Gifford Medical Center, will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. It will be held in Judd Hall Gym at Vermont State University’s Randolph Center campus.

Some experts say increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers, and boosting funding for primary care, could help address increasing costs and barriers to access.

Dr. Bruce Hamory, with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman, told Vermont Public he regrets the report contained inaccurate annual birth and emergency department numbers for North Country Hospital, but, he says they don’t change the overall trend of Vermont’s hospital system heading for financial unsustainability.