Vermont
Feds approve Vt. bid to improve Medicare affordability, quality
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont is partnering with the federal government and a few other states in a new effort to contain Medicare costs and improve care.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services earlier this week announced it has accepted Vermont’s application to participate in the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) program.
State officials say the aim is to help bring in more federal Medicare dollars to invest in primary care and preventative medicine to keep people healthy instead of resorting to expensive emergency procedures. They say the program won’t be a silver bullet in bringing down the cost of health care but it’s still a valuable opportunity.
“We’ve learned a lot, we’ve been successful in a lot of ways. This is an opportunity for us to continue to test and evolve and change based on the needs of our communities. It won’t be everything, but I think it will be a really meaningful piece, especially for hospitals and primary care,” said Monica Ogelby with the Vermont Agency of Human Services.
The program is similar to the years-long all-payer model reform efforts the state has been involved in — paying hospitals and providers flat fees instead of charging for each procedure, which many say drives up the cost of care.
Critics say those efforts have not paid off and haven’t kept up with hospital and commercial insurance rates, which are increasing by double digits
The AHEAD model would last for nine years and is slated to begin in 2026.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s state flower was chosen on this day in history.
An act of the legislature on February 1st, 1895, made the red clover the official flower of the Green Mountain State.
The red clover was seen as hardy, durable, like Vermont’s population, and widespread across the state’s agricultural lands.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont House lawmakers gave final approval this week to a mid-year adjustment of the state budget.
The spending plan passed unanimously and includes more money for state police overtime, an expansion of the Chittenden County Accountability Court and money for Meals on Wheels.
The budget also allocates $5 million to maintain Section 8 housing vouchers. That money comes from a $60 million fund set aside last year in the event of cuts from the federal government.
“We’re a quarter of the way through the game. We want to be careful to not spend everything now because given everything that’s happened in the last 12 months, who knows what’s going to happen in the next 12 or longer,” said Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury.
The budget adjustment bill now heads to the Vermont Senate.
Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.
A Vermont woman is dead after her snowmobile struck a group of trees Saturday afternoon on a trail in Brighton.
State police say they were notified around 12:55 p.m. of a snowmobile crash on VAST Trail 2001 and arrived to find a 50-year-old female operator with critical injuries.
Life-saving measures were performed, and the woman was taken to North Country Hospital in Newport where she was later pronounced dead, according to police. She has since been identified as Laurie Jackson, of Proctorsville.
An investigation shows Jackson was traveling north on the trail near Meadow Street when she failed to negotiate a left-hand turn, driving off trail to the right where her 2001 Skidoo Renegade hit several trees, according to police, who noted that Jackson was wearing a helmet at the time, and described the trails as groomed/fair condition.
Further information was not provided Saturday.
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