One of the inaugural members of the Green Mountain Care Board will step down after her three-year term expires this fall.
Dr. Karen Hein informed Gov. Peter Shumlin this week that she’ll depart the five-person board at the end of September. Hein was among the first people to serve on a quasi-judicial panel created by the Legislature in 2011 to oversee some of the most pivotal aspects of health care reform.
The board’s broad powers include the ability to enforce new payment protocols on hospitals and other medical providers. The board is also responsible for approving or denying proposed health insurance rates, and setting hospital budgets.
Hein says she supports the mission of the board – which would play a critical role in the administration of single-payer health care, should lawmakers approve the transition to a publicly financed system. She says she’s leaving to support her husband, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Shumlin will convene a nominating committee to begin the selection process for a new board member.
