Vermont H 228: An act relating to creating an exemption to Vermont’s purchase and use tax

Bill Text

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VT LEG #380742 v.1
H.228 1
Introduced by Representatives Cole of Hartford and Cordes of Bristol 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Health; hospitals; hospital budgets; Green Mountain Care Board; 5
executive compensation; administrative staffing ratios 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to require 7
hospitals to provide information about employee compensation and 8
administrative staffing ratios to the Green Mountain Care Board as part of the 9
Board’s hospital budget review process and to make current compensation 10
information available to the Board throughout the year. The bill would also 11
direct the Board to ensure that the ratio of administrative employees at each 12
hospital to employees delivering health care services directly to patients is 13
aligned with national averages for similar hospitals and that the compensation 14
for a hospital’s executive and clinic leadership does not equal more than 10 15
times that of the hospital’s lowest-paid employees who deliver health care 16
services directly to hospital patients. 17
An act relating to hospital employee compensation and administrative 18
staffing ratios 19

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VT LEG #380742 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, with information that includes 15
and excludes the salary amounts for faculty medical education and fellowships 16
and income related to research projects reported separately for all employees 17
who receive compensation for such activities; and 18
(9) such other information as the Board may require. 19
(b) Hospitals shall adopt a fiscal year that shall begin on October 1. 20

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VT LEG #380742 v.1
(c) Hospitals shall make current information regarding base salaries and 1
total compensation, including bonuses, variable pay, investments on behalf of 2
employees and administrators, and benefits available to the Green Mountain 3
Care Board upon request throughout the fiscal year. 4
Sec. 2. 18 V.S.A. § 9456 is amended to read: 5
§ 9456. BUDGET REVIEW 6
(a) The Board shall conduct reviews of each hospital’s proposed budget 7
based on the information provided pursuant to this subchapter and in 8
accordance with a schedule established by the Board. 9
(b) In conjunction with budget reviews, the Board shall: 10
* * * 11
(12) review the hospital’s investments in workforce development 12
initiatives, including nursing workforce pipeline collaborations with nursing 13
schools and compensation and other support for nurse preceptors; and 14
(13) consider the salaries for the hospital’s executive and clinical 15
leadership and the hospital’s salary spread, including a comparison of median 16
salaries to the medians of northern New England states and a comparison of 17
the base salaries and total compensation for the hospital’s executive and clinic 18
leadership, excluding salary amounts for faculty medical education and 19
fellowships and income related to research projects, with those of the 20

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VT LEG #380742 v.1
hospital’s lowest-paid employees who deliver health care services directly to 1
hospital patients; and 2
(14) consider the number of employees of the hospital whose duties are 3
primarily administrative in nature, as defined by the Board, compared with the 4
number of employees whose duties primarily involve delivering health care 5
services directly to hospital patients, as well as national average staffing ratios 6
for hospitals of a similar size and with a similar number of locations and 7
industry best practices for such hospital staffing ratios. 8
(c) Individual hospital budgets established under this section shall: 9
(1) be consistent with the Health Resource Allocation Plan; 10
(2) take into consideration national, regional, or in-state peer group 11
norms, according to indicators, ratios, and statistics established by the Board, 12
and ensure that the ratio of administrative employees at each hospital to 13
employees delivering health care services directly to patients is aligned with 14
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