Vermont S 25: An act relating to miscellaneous cannabis regulation procedures

Bill Text

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VT LEG #379258 v.1
S.25 1
Introduced by Senators Vyhovsky, Clarkson, Gulick, Hardy, Perchlik, Watson 2
and White 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Health; hospitals; hospital budgets; Green Mountain Care Board; 6
executive compensation; administrative staffing ratios 7
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require 8
hospitals to provide information about employee compensation and 9
administrative staffing ratios to the Green Mountain Care Board as part of the 10
Board’s hospital budget review process. It would also direct the Board to 11
ensure that the ratio of administrative employees at each hospital to employees 12
delivering health care services directly to patients is aligned with national 13
averages for similar hospitals and that the compensation for a hospital’s 14
executive and clinic leadership does not equal more than 10 times that of the 15
hospital’s lowest-paid employees who deliver health care services directly to 16
hospital patients. 17
An act relating to hospital salaries and administrative staffing ratios 18

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VT LEG #379258 v.1
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
Sec. 1. 18 V.S.A. § 9454 is amended to read: 2
§ 9454. HOSPITALS; DUTIES 3
(a) Hospitals shall file the following information at the time and place and 4
in the manner established by the Board: 5
* * * 6
(6) known depreciation schedules on existing buildings, a four-year 7
capital expenditure projection, and a one-year capital expenditure plan; and 8
(7) the number of employees of the hospital whose duties are primarily 9
administrative in nature, as defined by the Board, and the number of 10
employees whose duties primarily involve delivering health care services 11
directly to hospital patients; 12
(8) information regarding base salaries and total compensation for the 13
hospital’s executive and clinical leadership and for its employees who deliver 14
health care services directly to hospital patients; and 15
(9) such other information as the Board may require. 16
(b) Hospitals shall adopt a fiscal year that shall begin on October 1. 17

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VT LEG #379258 v.1
Sec. 2. 18 V.S.A. § 9456 is amended to read: 1
§ 9456. BUDGET REVIEW 2
(a) The Board shall conduct reviews of each hospital’s proposed budget 3
based on the information provided pursuant to this subchapter and in 4
accordance with a schedule established by the Board. 5
(b) In conjunction with budget reviews, the Board shall: 6
* * * 7
(12) review the hospital’s investments in workforce development 8
initiatives, including nursing workforce pipeline collaborations with nursing 9
schools and compensation and other support for nurse preceptors; and 10
(13) consider the salaries for the hospital’s executive and clinical 11
leadership and the hospital’s salary spread, including a comparison of median 12
salaries to the medians of northern New England states and a comparison of 13
the base salaries and total compensation for the hospital’s executive and clinic 14
leadership with those of the hospital’s lowest-paid employees who deliver 15
health care services directly to hospital patients; and 16
(14) consider the number of employees of the hospital whose duties are 17
primarily administrative in nature, as defined by the Board, compared with the 18
number of employees whose duties primarily involve delivering health care 19
services directly to hospital patients, as well as national average staffing ratios 20

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VT LEG #379258 v.1
for hospitals of a similar size and with a similar number of locations and 1
industry best practices for such hospital staffing ratios. 2
(c) Individual hospital budgets established under this section shall: 3
(1) be consistent with the Health Resource Allocation Plan; 4
(2) take into consideration national, regional, or in-state peer group 5
norms, according to indicators, ratios, and statistics established by the Board, 6
and ensure that the ratio of administrative employees at each hospital to 7
employees delivering health care services directly to patients is aligned with 8
national averages for a hospital of a similar size and with a similar number of 9
locations; 10
(3) promote efficient and economic operation of the hospital; 11
(4) reflect budget performances for prior years; 12
(5) include a finding that the analysis provided in subdivision (b)(9) of 13
this section is a reasonable methodology for reflecting a reduction in net 14
revenues for non-Medicaid payers; and 15
(6) demonstrate that they support equal access to appropriate mental 16
health care that meets standards of quality, access, and affordability equivalent 17
to other components of health care as part of an integrated, holistic system of 18
care; and 19
(7) limit the base salaries and total compensation for the hospital’s 20
executive and cli