Time is short and the workload is immense. The inaugural members of Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board took their seat at the table this fall and have been hard at work ever since.
The Board was created by the Vermont legislature in 2011 to oversee the design and implementation of Green Mountain Care, the state’s vision for a health care system that will cover every Vermonter, with an affordable price tag. The independent governing body, whose members will serve 5 year staggered terms, is charged with:
- Improving the health of Vermonters
- Reducing the rate of growth of Vermont’s health care costs
- Enhancing the quality of care
- Recruiting high-quality health care professionals to practice in Vermont
- Simplifying administrative processes to reduce overhead and improve efficiency
This is no easy task. But the challenge of building a health care system that works and likelihood of Vermont becoming the first state in the nation to do so, has attracted some of the most talented minds in the country. Click here to ‘meet’ the members of the board (http://healthcare.vermont.gov/about).
According to the Board’s Chair, Anya Rader Wallack, “We are both humbled and honored to work together and with the health care community on behalf of Vermonters at this historic time for our state and this country.”
The board’s first order of business in 2012 is to get a handle on health care costs. They will work with state regulators to review insurance premiums, hospital budgets, and plans to expand existing health care infrastructure. They will also explore ways to reward providers for keeping patients healthy and tackle the issue of what health services will be covered under Green Mountain Care. All of their meetings are public and they are committed to engaging Vermonters in the decision-making process. Click here to stay up to date on their progress (http://healthcare.vermont.gov/).