Colchester-based OneCare Vermont is seeking approval for a $1.36 billion budget proposal, raising the eyebrows of regulators and healthcare stakeholders who want to see more value from the state's only ACO, according to a report from VT Digger.
OneCare Vermont is jointly owned by the Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. OneCare's 2020 budget proposal represents a 33 percent increase over last year's budget, and includes a request for $13 million from Medicaid, which is considered the most controversial part of the budget, according to the report.
Critics say that's a big increase for an organization that has yet to deliver on promises of better care at lower costs, according to VT Digger. OneCare lost $1.5 million in Medicaid dollars in 2018 and projects a loss of $8 million for 2019. OneCare is behind on recruiting participants, and it does not yet have data that shows patient health improvements, according to the report.
OneCare Vermont CEO Vicki Loner, RN, told VT Digger it is still too early to see results. Some programs are only two years in, and she pegged a reasonable timeline to see results at three to five years, according to the report.
The budget proposal was submitted Oct. 1, and the Green Mountain Care Board, an independent committee that oversees Vermont's health system, will make the final decision in December. Read the full story here.
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