The University of Vermont Medical Center filed a motion Oct. 21 with the Green Mountain Care Board, the governing body of the hospital, to delay an order that the hospital said would penalize it for delivering care to patients in fiscal year 2023, according to an Oct. 22 report in VermontBiz.
The board, which UVM reports to, ordered a significantly reduced budget for the new fiscal year. Unless the board's enforcement action is overturned, it will force UVM Medical Center, the academic medical center that anchors University of Vermont Health Network, to cut patient care and support services, according to the report.
If the motion is granted by the board, the hospital would postpone some of the service cuts while its appeal is pending.
In May, the board first informed UVM Medical Center it was in violation of its budget orders for the 2023 fiscal year, exceeding its approved net patient revenue by approximately $80 million. UVM claims that this is due to an ever-growing patient volume.
Also in May, UVM Medical Center sought approval to build a $129 million outpatient surgery center in South Burlington, Vt. At the beginning of October, however, construction on the project was stalled due to budget constraints.
The decision to pause construction was a first step in budget cuts, with additional actions necessary if the enforcement order proceeds, according to the report.
The health system is approaching cuts carefully with the goal of minimizing impacts on patients and employees.
Amid UVM's appeal of both the fiscal year 2023 enforcement action and its fiscal year 2025 hospital budget, leaders from across the health system are working to identify cuts to non-clinical expenses as a way to make financial reductions before impacting patient care.
Last year, in response to regulator budget orders, the health system reduced 130 open non-clinical positions and cut overall administrative costs by nearly $20 million.