Vt. governor to roll health report into budget

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration is asking for a bit more time to report on its ideas for paying for an ambitious overhaul of the state's health care system.

A law passed in 2011 set Tuesday, Jan. 15, as the day the administration was to give lawmakers answers to the often asked question of how the Green Mountain Care single-payer health plan will be paid for.

Administration officials say they now want a bit more time — until Jan. 24, when Shumlin is scheduled to deliver his annual budget address to lawmakers — to outline the plan's possible financing.

Mark Larson, commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access, says such requests for extensions are not uncommon.