Gov. Scott signs bill into law to curb influence of insurance companies on VT health care
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Gov. Phil Scott has signed a bill into law that will streamline insurance requirements for health care in Vermont. The bill, H.766, reduces administrative delays and removes barriers to care for Vermont patients, according to legislators and health care providers who backed the legislation.
"H.766 will stop insurance companies from coming between you and the care you need," Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden Southeast, said in a statement. "Vermonters who have struggled to access timely medical care and their practitioners will no longer be frustrated by administrative barriers that put health care on hold."
Rep. Alyssa Black, D-Essex, lead sponsor of the bill, took the opportunity to once again reject the argument made by insurance companies that H.766 will ultimately drive up health care costs, saying she trusts health care providers to keep costs in check.
"Primary care spends less, orders fewer tests, fewer unnecessary labs, and provides the most economic, best bang for your buck," Black said in a statement. "I am thrilled that Gov. Scott understands that our overstretched primary care workforce can no longer bear the brunt of this administrative burden."
Insurance companies were telling doctors what they could and couldn't do, says family physician
Dr. Katie Martin, a family physician at Lamoille Health Partners in Morrisville, said earlier this month that the situation had reached a point where "insurance companies can tell us what we can and can't do, even in life-threatening emergencies, and the victims are always the patients."
The University of Vermont Health Care Network, the state's largest health care provider, pushed for the bill's passage, together with the Vermont Medical Society, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter.
"Vermont patients are the winners today," Marvin said.
Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DanDambrosioVT.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Gov. Phil Scott signed bill to streamline VT health insurance
