Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center alleged that a recent enforcement action by the Green Mountain Care Board will force the hospital to cut patient care and support services.
The hospital, part of the Burlington-based University of Vermont Health Network, said it has filed a motion with the board seeking to delay the enforcement action while filing an appeal of both the action and the fiscal year 2025 budget, according to an Oct. 23 news release from the health system.
In May, the Green Mountain Care Board informed the hospital that it was in violation of its budget orders in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the release. The board said the hospital exceeded its approved net patient revenue by approximately $80 million. The hospital argued that this was a direct result of it providing "higher volumes of patient care."
"All of the unbudgeted revenue was used to cover the additional expense of providing necessary care to those patients; none of it was retained by the hospital as a positive margin," the hospital said in the release. "In fact, the hospital lost $23 million providing the additional care, but continued its efforts to increase access to much needed health care as part of its nonprofit mission."
The hospital said in the release that the enforcement action reduces the commercial insurance rates it can charge in fiscal 2025 by 1%, which it alleged is "essentially a 'giveback' to insurance companies." The hospital argued that the giveback "results in no decrease to the rates that insurance companies charge their members this year."
UVM is appealing the Green Mountain Care Board's enforcement action "as an illegal exercise of the board's authority" because the punishment was handed down without first providing the hospital a hearing or taking any testimony regarding the consequences of the cuts, according to the release.
The Green Mountain Care Board, however, said in a statement shared with Becker's that UVM Medical Center's news release is inaccurate and the hospital "violated its statutory obligation to comply with its budget order, which resulted in unnecessary and excessive costs to Vermonters."
The board said that after providing notice, reviewing written submissions and conducting public hearings, it determined UVM Medical Center inaccurately budgeted revenue and expenses, including by failing to account for tens of millions of dollars in federal funds. It also failed to adequately control its expense growth, "yet rewarded its executives with significant compensation." The board said the hospital was also penalized by the federal government for its quality and safety results and had excessively high commercial rates.
"As repeatedly made clear to UVMMC, GMCB's budget decision was not a penalty and UVMMC did not avail itself of opportunities to address its excessive revenue," the board's statement said.