§ 9405. State Health Improvement Plan; Health Resource Allocation Plan

(a) The Secretary of Human Services or designee, in consultation with the Chair of the Green Mountain Care Board and health care professionals and after receipt of public comment, shall adopt a State Health Improvement Plan that sets forth the health goals and values for the State. The Secretary may amend the Plan as the Secretary deems necessary and appropriate. The Plan shall include health promotion, health protection, nutrition, and disease prevention priorities for the State; identify available human resources as well as human resources needed for achieving the State’s health goals and the planning required to meet those needs; identify gaps in ensuring equal access to appropriate mental health care that meets standards of quality, access, and affordability equivalent to other components of health care as part of an integrated, holistic system of care; and identify geographic parts of the State needing investments of additional resources in order to improve the health of the population. Copies of the Plan shall be submitted to members of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the House Committee on Health Care.

(b) The Green Mountain Care Board, in consultation with the Secretary of Human Services or designee, shall publish on its website the Health Resource Allocation Plan identifying Vermont’s critical health needs, goods, services, and resources, which shall be used to inform the Board’s regulatory processes, cost containment and statewide quality of care efforts, health care payment and delivery system reform initiatives, and any allocation of health resources within the State. The Plan shall identify Vermont residents’ needs for health care services, programs, and facilities; the resources available and the additional resources that would be required to realistically meet those needs and to make access to those services, programs, and facilities affordable for consumers; and the priorities for addressing those needs on a statewide basis. The Board may expand the Plan to include resources, needs, and priorities related to the social determinants of health. The Plan shall be revised periodically, but not less frequently than once every four years.

(1) In developing the Plan, the Board shall:

(A) consider the principles in section 9371 of this title, as well as the purposes enumerated in sections 9401 and 9431 of this title;

(B) identify priorities using information from:

(i) the State Health Improvement Plan;

(ii) emergency medical services resources and needs identified by the EMS Advisory Committee in accordance with subsection 909(f) of this title;

(iii) the community health needs assessments required by section 9405a of this title;

(iv) available health care workforce information;

(v) materials provided to the Board through its other regulatory processes, including hospital budget review, oversight of accountable care organizations, issuance and denial of certificates of need, and health insurance rate review; and

(vi) the public input process set forth in this section;

(C) use existing data sources to identify and analyze the gaps between the supply of health resources and the health needs of Vermont residents and to identify utilization trends to determine areas of underutilization and overutilization; and

(D) consider the cost impacts of fulfilling any gaps between the supply of health resources and the health needs of Vermont residents.

(2) The Green Mountain Care Board shall convene the Green Mountain Care Board General Advisory Committee established pursuant to subdivision 9374(e)(1) of this title to provide recommendations to the Board during the Board’s development of the Plan.

(3) The Board shall receive and consider public input on the Plan at a minimum of one Board meeting and one meeting of the Advisory Committee and shall give interested persons an opportunity to submit their views orally and in writing.

(4) The Board shall include reproductive health care services and gender-affirming health care services, as those terms are defined in 1 V.S.A. § 150, in its Plan analysis.

(5) As used in this section:

(A) “Health resources” means investments into the State’s health care system, including investments in personnel, equipment, and infrastructure necessary to deliver:

(i) hospital, nursing home, and other inpatient services;

(ii) ambulatory care, including primary care services, mental health services, health screening and early intervention services, and services for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders;

(iii) home health services; and

(iv) emergency care, including ambulance services.

(B) “Health resources” may also include investments in personnel, equipment, and infrastructure necessary to address the social determinants of health. (Added 1991, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 11, 1992; amended 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2003, No. 53, § 3; 2007, No. 27, § 6; 2011, No. 48, § 20; 2011, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. May 14, 2012; 2011, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. May 16, 2012; 2013, No. 79, § 37; 2017, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 22, 2018; 2017, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2019, No. 14, § 55, eff. April 20, 2019; 2019, No. 166 (Adj. Sess.), § 28, eff. Oct. 1, 2020; 2023, No. 15, § 9, eff. May 10, 2023.)