VLA in the Media
Some recent press mentions for Vermont Legal Aid
1/3/2026 More bailouts for nursing homes? Why Vermont has given millions to keep care centers afloat.
Valley News
https://vnews.com/2026/01/03/vermont-nursing-homes-bailout/
Staffing tends to be the highest expenditure for nursing homes, and oftentimes nursing homes that work with temporary staffing agencies are contractually obligated to pay contract staff more than permanent staff, said Kaili Kuiper, Vermont Legal Aid’s long-term care ombudsman. That means nursing homes spend much of their budget on filling the staffing gap with temporary staff, and do not have the funds to invest in recruiting long-term staff.
1/8/2026 Vermont treasurer proposes plan to lower prescription drug costs
Brattleboro Reformer (also WPTZ-TV5, Vermont Public, Vermont Daily Chronicle, and Vermont Biz)
https://www.reformer.com/local-news/vermont-treasurer-proposes-plan-to-lower-prescription-drug-costs/article_6418f105-5e83-417c-a88e-d7c5239a3154.html
"We hear from Vermonters regularly who call us in desperation ...," said Mike Fisher, chief health care advocate. "We want people to make health care choices, not economic choices. Unfortunately, sometimes they have no choice."
1/20/2026 Commentary | Maryellen Griffin: Evictions cause homelessness. We can’t afford more.
Manchester Journal
https://www.manchesterjournal.com/opinion/columnists/commentary-maryellen-griffin-evictions-cause-homelessness-we-can-t-afford-more/article_a3098cca-58ea-4292-8c27-5dd1ef150c94.html
Maryellen Griffin is a staff attorney for Vermont Legal Aid.
1/21/2026 Housing clinic argues before Vermont Supreme Court
Yale Law School
https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/housing-clinic-argues-vermont-supreme-court
The clinic represented amici Vermont Legal Aid and the National Consumer Law Center, arguing that mortgage servicers cannot foreclose on homeowners without showing clear legal entitlement to do so at the time they filed their complaint.
1/22/2026 Early numbers show many Vermonters dropping their insurance for 2026
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2026/01/22/early-numbers-show-many-vermonters-dropping-their-insurance-for-2026/
The new reality of marketplace insurance without federal subsidies may leave Vermonters feeling like, “I have insurance and I can’t afford to use it,” state health care advocate Mike Fisher said.
1/29/2026 VT groups hire lawyers to help immigrants with court access across the state
Burlington Free Press
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2026/01/29/vermont-legal-aid-vermont-asylum-assistance-project-boost-immigration-lawyers-courts-access-citizen/88396400007/
Vermont Legal Aid and the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project have joined forces to expand immigration legal services in the state. “We are incredibly thankful for this collaboration and for the community of supporters who made it possible,” Bessie Weiss, interim executive director at Vermont Legal Aid, said. “This partnership allows us to expand services, deepen impact, and ensure immigrant communities across Vermont have meaningful access to justice.”
1/30/2026 Gov. Phil Scott pitches a (mostly) deregulatory plan for health care
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2026-01-30/capitol-recap-gov-phil-scott-pitches-a-mostly-deregulatory-plan-for-health-care
Vermont Health Advocate Mike Fisher told lawmakers this week he’d entertain the governor’s proposal if he thought it could meaningfully impact the makeup of the state’s insurance pool. But he argued the 5% price differential contemplated in the bill was unlikely to drive change, and he noted that a significant chunk of those who are uninsured are already eligible for Medicaid.
12/2/2002 Report recommends expanding eviction protection program statewide
WCAX-TV3
https://www.wcax.com/2025/12/02/report-recommends-expanding-eviction-protection-program-statewide/
“There is not affordable housing available, so when tenants are evicted, they can not replace the housing,” said Sara Kagle with Vermont Legal Aid. She says the pilot program is working, preventing evictions, and that lawmakers should expand it statewide. Kagle says they reached out to 206 Vermonters who were facing eviction proceedings. Ninety-four responded, and they closed 72 cases, a 46% success rate.
12/9/2025 Vermonters reminded to re-enroll in health plans
My Champlain Valley
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/vermont/vermonters-reminded-to-re-enroll-in-health-plans/
“For too many Vermonters, these premium spikes are simply unaffordable,” said Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher. “At the Health Care Advocate office, we’re hearing from families who are seeing their monthly costs double or even triple overnight.”
12/9/2025 Vermont Medicare Advantage recipients have until year-end to find new coverage
WCAX-TV3
https://www.wcax.com/2025/12/09/vermont-medicare-advantage-recipients-have-until-year-end-find-new-coverage/
Enrollees have until December 31st to find new coverage, which could include Medigap and a supplemental prescription drug plan. The plans are administered by private companies, and state officials say their hands are tied. “People talk about the Green Mountain Care Board or the Legislature, wondering what they may have done wrong. In this case, this is all federal policy that led to this problem,” said Mike Fisher, Vermont’s health care advocate.
12/9/2025 Treasurer, state leaders urge Vermonters to secure 2026 health coverage ASAP
Vermont Biz
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/december/09/treasurer-state-leaders-urge-vermonters-secure-2026-health-coverage-asap
Resources from Vermont Legal Aid are available to help Vermonters understand the 2026 Vermont Health Connect changes and the 2026 Medicare Advantage changes. Vermonters with questions about health insurance or access to care can contact Vermont Legal Aid by calling 1-800-917-7787 or visiting Vtlawhelp.org/health.
12/9/2025 Vermont officials push early action as health coverage deadlines near
NBC-TV5
https://www.mynbc5.com/article/health-care-enrollment/69677722
Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher underscored the stakes, calling it “not a normal year.”
12/10/2025 Health Care Advocate argues against Rutland Regional Medical Center pediatric unit closure plan
Rutland Herald
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/health-care-advocate-argues-against-rutland-regional-medical-center-pediatric-unit-closure-plan/article_bc65c5c4-983c-45d1-b0fb-a8511896d7ed.html
The Office of the Health Care Advocate has advised the Green Mountain Care Board to reject Rutland Regional Medical Center’s plan to close its pediatric unit. “Except for a projected positive impact on RRMC’s financial sustainability, the current proposal does not meet the other evaluation criteria outlined by the board,” a letter from the HCA to the board dated.
12/11/2025 Rutland Regional Medical Center changes course on pediatric unit closure plan
Rutland Herald
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/rutland-regional-medical-center-changes-course-on-pediatric-unit-closure-plan/article_8cc9ef46-f401-416e-857e-73d0cb528d67.html
12/12/2025 Rutland Herald Community News for Dec. 12, 2025
Rutland Herald
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/community/rutland-herald-community-news-for-dec-12-2025/article_b15a084c-f548-4965-9b08-b83880257725.html
Resources from Vermont Legal Aid are available to help Vermonters understand the 2026 Vermont Health Connect changes and the 2026 Medicare Advantage changes. Vermonters with questions about health insurance or access to care can contact Vermont Legal Aid by calling 1-800-917-7787 or visiting vtlawhelp.org/health.
12/18/2025 Vermont offers criminal record clearing clinic to seal or expunge old cases
6 News-TV
https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/vermont-offers-criminal-record-clearing-clinic-to-seal-or-expunge-old-cases
More information on sealing and expungements generally is available at Vermont Legal Aid’s website at www.vtlawhelp.org/expungement.
12/28/2025 Criminal record clearing clinic set for Jan. 15 in Brattleboro
Bennington Banner
https://www.benningtonbanner.com/community-news/criminal-record-clearing-clinic-set-for-jan-15-in-brattleboro/article_e97be617-dfb5-4f70-852f-13e7b2540f42.html
More information on sealing and expungements generally is available at Vermont Legal Aid’s website at www.vtlawhelp.org/expungement.
12/30/2025 More bailouts for nursing homes? Why Vermont has given millions to keep care centers afloat
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/12/30/more-bailouts-for-nursing-homes-why-vermont-has-given-millions-to-keep-care-centers-afloat/
Staffing tends to be the highest expenditure for nursing homes, and oftentimes nursing homes that work with temporary staffing agencies are contractually obligated to pay contract staff more than permanent staff, said Kaili Kuiper, Vermont Legal Aid’s long-term care ombudsman. That means nursing homes spend much of their budget on filling the staffing gap with temporary staff, and do not have the funds to invest in recruiting long-term staff.
11/4/2025 'A real problem for our democracy': Vermont Supreme Court forms commission to look at legal deserts
VTDigger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/29/a-real-problem-for-our-democracy-vermont-supreme-court-forms-commission-to-look-at-legal-deserts/
In the realm of civil law, Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid, which handle some civil legal cases at a low cost or free of charge, are usually able to fill open positions, but do not have the financial resources to hire enough lawyers amid steep increases in housing-related cases, according to LSV Executive Director Sam Abel-Palmer.
11/14/2025 Vermont small business face tough choices with Affordable Care Act insurance credits in limbo
NBC-TV5
https://www.mynbc5.com/article/small-businesses-affordable-care-act-tax-credits/69442143
The Vermont Office of the Health Care Advocate says that many people won't see a change in insurance fees and that there will be affordable options for families. However, people and businesses that do experience changes will be faced with a dramatic price increase.
11/17/2025 Is your Medicare Advantage plan ending? Here's where to go for help
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-11-17/is-your-medicare-advantage-plan-ending-heres-where-to-go-for-help
Vermont’s Office of the Health Care Advocate offers free and confidential help if you have questions about health insurance or access to care. Call 1-800-917-7787 or submit an online help request at vtlawhelp.org/health. They’ve also put together this useful guide.
11/19/2025 Vermont Conversation: ‘We don’t have a safety net’: A family confronts a future without health insurance
VTDigger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/11/19/vermont-conversation-we-dont-have-a-safety-net-a-family-confronts-a-future-without-health-insurance/
“I have a tremendous fear that what we are watching before us is the undoing, the dismantling of our healthcare financing system,” said Michael Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate. “This is devastating and it’s self-inflicted. And the majority in Congress think it’s the right thing to do.”
11/20/2025 Stigma of poverty, homelessness holds back Vermont, says panel
The Herald
https://www.ourherald.com/articles/stigma-of-poverty-homelessness-holds-back-vermont-says-panel/
Siegel was joined by Venessa Tufts, who helps clients navigate the housing landscape in her work with BROC Community Action, which serves Rutland and Bennington counties; Maryellen Griffin, an attorney with Vermont Legal Aid; and Jessica Radbord, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.
11/21/2025 Regulators can now block hospital service cuts. They're taking a look in Rutland.
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-11-21/regulators-can-now-block-hospital-service-cuts-theyre-taking-a-look-in-rutland
“I don't envy the board,” said Mike Fisher, Vermont’s health advocate. “They are going to have to weigh very tough dynamics to make these decisions.”
10/1/2025 In most of Vermont, there won't be a single Medicare Advantage plan available next year
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-10-01/medicare-advantage-plan-not-available-next-year
“Vermont's Medicare Advantage marketplace has collapsed,” Mike Fisher, Vermont’s health care advocate, said Wednesday. “There's no insurance companies offering a statewide plan.”
10/2/2025 Tens of thousands Vermonters are set to lose Medicare Advantage Option in 2026
Valley News
https://vnews.com/2025/10/02/vermont-medicare-advantage-plans-2026/
Another concern is that Vermont’s Medigap plans are expensive: “There’s a real risk of this change driving more people to be in Medicare with no secondary coverage,” said Mike Fisher, the state’s health care advocate. Yet Medicare Advantage plans have also received serious criticisms. “We regularly hear from people who feel like they have been sold something that doesn’t meet their needs,” Fisher said. “And we regularly hear from providers across the whole system of care who are really frustrated with underpayment.”
10/2/2025 Seniors forced to begin hunt for new Medicare Advantage Plans
WCAX-TV3
https://www.wcax.com/2025/10/02/seniors-forced-begin-hunt-new-medicare-advantage-plans/
“I understand that this would give many Vermonters pause and concern, and many might be thinking, well, what do I have to do?” said Mike Fisher, Vermont’s health care advocate.
10/3/2025 Balint, Vermont Legal Aid warn of damage caused by cut health care subsidies
Rutland Herald
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/balint-vermont-legal-aid-warn-of-damage-caused-by-cut-health-care-subsidies/article_2fd34416-8303-4354-be49-db93d733600d.html
Balint spoke to reporters on Friday, the third day of the shutdown. She was joined by Michael Fisher, chief health care advocate for Vermont Legal Aid. According to Fisher, when health insurance premiums rise, it is healthier people who tend to leave the market first. What remains are people who need more care. This “thickens” the pool, driving up costs for everyone.
10/3/2025 Vermont’s U.S. Rep. Becca Balint: ‘We have to hold the line’ on health insurance subsidies
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/03/vermonts-u-s-rep-becca-balint-we-have-to-hold-the-line-on-health-insurance-subsidies/
Balint was joined by the state’s health care advocate Mike Fisher on the virtual call to discuss what is at stake in the shutdown. ... Fisher agreed, saying that when costs increase, heathy people are the most willing to risk leaving the insurance market, leaving the group of insured people sicker on average.
10/3/2025 Balint, Vermont Legal Aid warn of damage caused by cut health care subsidies
Times Argus
https://www.timesargus.com/news/local/balint-vermont-legal-aid-warn-of-damage-caused-by-cut-health-care-subsidies/article_81ac0d4c-3ab2-5e94-b37b-d6e72c6666eb.html
Some people, Fisher said, opt for less expensive plans which cover far less care. He said he’s had many calls from Vermonters paying for health insurance plans that don’t cover the care they still need. A rise in premiums, he said, will cause people to spend less elsewhere, impacting the greater economy.
10/9/2025 Do vouchers unequally sort Vermont’s students? New data suggests yes — sometimes
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-10-09/do-tuition-vouchers-unequally-sort-vermont-students-iep-new-data-suggests-yes-sometimes
Private schools that receive vouchers were required to accept students with disabilities. Cammie Naylor is a staff attorney with Vermont Legal Aid’s disability law project, which helped draft the rules. She said she isn’t surprised an uneven distribution of special education students persists.
10/14/2025 Vermont's Medicare Advantage Market Has Collapsed. Here's What You Need to Know.
Compass Vermont
https://www.compassvermont.com/p/vermonts-medicare-advantage-market
The bad news is the price. As Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher warned, Medigap plans in Vermont are “prohibitively expensive.”
10/21/2025 Protecting what your home has helped you build
VermontBiz
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/october/21/protecting-what-your-home-has-helped-you-build-oct-2229
To help homeowners take those steps with confidence, Champlain Housing Trust is offering two upcoming virtual workshops on estate planning. ... Enhanced Life State Deed, Advanced Directives & Power of Attorney (POA) - Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Instructors: Grace Pazdan & Leah Burdick, Vermont Legal Aid.
10/21/2025 Federal moves to block health care for trans youth may complicate access in Vermont
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/21/federal-moves-to-block-health-care-for-trans-youth-may-complicate-access-in-vermont/
Mike Fisher, the state’s health care advocate, stressed that although the atmosphere feels more fraught now, people should know that access to gender-affirming care for minors remains available in Vermont.
10/24/2025 When Vermont landlords stop renting
Rutland Herald
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/when-vermont-landlords-stop-renting/article_8fcaacbf-9c64-5b72-86b1-5c7d7445ed7a.html
Tenant advocates see the issue differently. Vermont Legal Aid Attorney Jean Murray, who was one of the main drivers of the landlord-tenant law study committee, pointed to rising rents and “no-cause” evictions as key drivers of instability.
10/28/2025 Problems followed some of Vermont’s largest and most troubled nursing homes after state approved new ownership
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/28/problems-followed-some-of-vermonts-largest-and-most-troubled-nursing-homes-after-state-approved-new-ownership/
Since the ownership transfer dates, the rate of complaints reported by residents received by Vermont Legal Aid’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Project shot up at four of the six facilities, and rose across the board by an average of 25%, according to a data analysis by VTDigger.
10/28/2025 Report: Troubles at Former Genesis Nursing Homes Expose Flaws in State’s Ownership Rules
Skillednursingnews.com
https://skillednursingnews.com/2025/10/troubles-at-former-genesis-nursing-homes-expose-flaws-in-vermonts-ownership-rules/
Since the ownership transfer dates, the rate of complaints reported by residents received by Vermont Legal Aid’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Project shot up at four of the six facilities, and rose across the board by an average of 25%, according to a data analysis by VTDigger.
10/29/2025 ‘A Real Problem for Our Democracy’: Vermont Supreme Court Forms Commission to Look at Legal Deserts
U.S. News and World Report and Associated Press
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/vermont/articles/2025-10-29/a-real-problem-for-our-democracy-vermont-supreme-court-forms-commission-to-look-at-legal-deserts
In the realm of civil law, Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid, which handle some civil legal cases at a low cost or free of charge, are usually able to fill open positions, but do not have the financial resources to hire enough lawyers amid steep increases in housing-related cases, according to Executive Director Sam Abel-Palmer.
10/29/2025 'An Unprecedented Hunger and Health Crisis': How The Big Beautiful Bill Could Devastate Vermont
Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-snap-crisis-vermont-1235455593/
“People tend to think of themselves in special little categories when they think about access to care,” says Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate. “But we are all part of one system.”
10/30/2025 Advocates want public involvement when nursing homes change ownership
Greenwichtime
https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/advocates-want-public-involvement-when-nursing-21129233.php
With somewhere between 91 and 126 licensed beds at each facility, these nursing homes are all considered large scale, and therefore the care and system breakdowns reported at the facilities affect a sizable swath of the state’s elderly population, said Kaili Kuiper, the state long-term care ombudsman for Vermont Legal Aid. Since the ownership transfer dates, the rate of complaints reported by residents received by Vermont Legal Aid’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Project shot up at four of the six facilities, and rose across the board by an average of 25%, according to a data analysis by VTDigger. ... Kuiper said she could not comment on the operator’s legal liability for the death, but said that long-term care facilities are supposed to implement measures to prevent lithium toxicity. “We certainly would expect there the recommended testing to be done and completed,” Kuiper said.
10/31/2025 On Vermont Health Connect, annual premium prices have doubled, or more
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/31/on-vermont-health-connect-annual-premium-prices-have-doubled-or-more/
Vermont’s Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher outlined some examples of just what this means for families in the state during a mid-October legislative committee meeting. He said a family of three, for instance, earning $86,000 a year — 323% above the federal poverty level, would have paid $121 with the enhanced tax credits in 2025 for a standard Gold Plan through MVP and $330 for one from Blue Cross Blue Shield VT. This coming year, those same plans will cost $291 or $856, respectively.
10/31/2025 Open enrollment has started. Here’s what you need to know
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-10-31/open-enrollment-starts-saturday-heres-what-you-need-to-know
But with enhanced subsidies that help defray the cost of insurance set to expire in 2026, Vermont Health Advocate Mike Fisher warns this is not the year to let your plan renew automatically.
11/3/2025 Vermont Edition show includes HCA
Vermont Public Radio
https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont-edition/2025-11-03/its-astounding-rep-becca-balint-on-the-houses-extended-shutdown-recess
This episode also included a conversation with Vermont's Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher and Marjorie Stinchcomb, a staff attorney at the office of the Health Care Advocate and the helpline director for Vermont Legal Aid.
9/30/2025 Appeals mount over 80-day motel limit as Vermont Supreme Court allows board decision to stand for now
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/09/30/appeals-mount-over-80-day-motel-limit-as-vermont-supreme-court-allows-board-decision-to-stand-for-now/
This allows the board to continue using its previous decision as an informal precedent, according to Vermont Legal Aid staff attorney Maryellen Griffin. So far, her organization’s clients under similar circumstances to “H.D.” have had positive initial rulings. Many have been granted “benefits pending appeal,” allowing medically vulnerable people and children back indoors while their case is decided, Griffin said. “We are definitely having trouble keeping up with demand,” Griffin said, adding that eligible people can also appeal their denial themselves when possible.
9/29/2025 Troubled Rutland City elder care home group is back in receivership
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/09/29/troubled-rutland-city-elder-care-home-group-is-back-in-receivership/
Kaili Kuiper, the state’s long-term care ombudsman with Vermont Legal Aid, said her office was not directly involved in the case, but that ombudsmen will continue to have a presence in the facilities to monitor resident care. Receivership is an important tool for the state to take over managerial and financial control of a facility to ensure the necessary services are being provided to residents at Vermont’s long-term care facilities, Kuiper said.
9/26/2025 State won't drop aggravated assault charges against 'chin-biter' defendant
Brattleboro Reformer:
https://www.reformer.com/local-news/state-wont-drop-aggravated-assault-charges-against-chin-biter-defendant/article_c36a0a24-0afe-442b-99e2-36d0950b64d8.html
Attorney Brigid Lynch of Vermont Legal Aid's mental health program told Kainen that the state did not agree with one of the conditions contained in an agreement the parties in Wilson's case had come up with. That condition was dismissing the case with prejudice.
9/25/2025 Health care advocates push to delay birthing center closure
News & Citizen:
https://www.vtcng.com/news_and_citizen/news/local_news/health-care-advocate-pushes-to-delay-birthing-center-closure/article_c0ddcd7c-ab98-4309-8ce5-2885ba17e82d.html
The Office of the Health Care Advocate, a legal nonprofit that helps Vermonters access health care through individual assistance and policy-level recommendations, is urging Copley Hospital to delay the closure of its birthing center. In a public comment submitted on Sept. 9 and signed by chief advocate Mike Fisher, the office said it did not support the immediate closure of the birthing center because it didn’t align with “Vermont’s health care reform goals or transformation efforts.”
9/23/25 VLA and the Immigrant Minor Guardianship project
Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/politics/fearing-detention-immigrant-parents-assign-legal-guardians-for-their-kids/
As immigration enforcement ramps up, parents are using a new program to assign legal guardians for their kids in case they are detained. “We’ve had ... clinics where so many families have shown up wanting this security, wanting to know that there is a plan for reunification with their children, and terrified if they wouldn’t have it,” said VLA attorney Barbara Prine. “You just feel the urgency.”
9/15/2025 Vermont regulator sets hospital budgets for coming year, targeting largest cuts at UVM Medical Center
VTDigger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/09/15/vermont-regulator-sets-hospital-budgets-for-coming-year-targeting-largest-cuts-at-uvm-medical-center/
The letter served as a signal to some longtime observers that this year’s decisions might have even more riding on them. “I’ve never seen anything remotely that incisive, quite frankly,” Sam Peisch, a policy analyst at the health care advocate’s office, said in an interview with VTDigger.
9/8/2025 Expungement clinic at Springfield Library
The Vermont Journal:
https://vermontjournal.com/news/expungement-clinic-at-springfield-library-2/
The Springfield Town Library is hosting an expungement clinic in partnership with Vermont Legal Aid, on Thursday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., and 1-3 p.m., where individuals can consult with an attorney to assess their criminal record’s eligibility for expungement or sealing.
8/25/2025 Insurance rates will rise by less than 10% next year on Vermont Health Connect
Vermont Public:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-08-25/insurance-rates-will-rise-by-less-than-10-next-year-on-vermont-health-connect
“The board took some bold action,” said Mike Fisher, the state’s chief health care advocate. “The other half of the equation is yet to be delivered – we need these rates to be sufficient to keep our carriers in good financial standing, and that really comes down to what the board does on the spending side in the hospital budgets.”
8/21/2025 Legal Aid talks of impact of federal cuts
The Herald:
https://www.ourherald.com/articles/legal-aid-talks-impact-of-federal-cuts/
Noting “serious financial strain” in the wake of federal funding cuts, nonprofits that provide free legal services for low-income Vermonters facing civil litigation recently announced reduction in service at a time when they are seeing a sharp increase in the need for assistance. ...“Overall, requests for legal assistance are up sharply from past years,” said Bessie Weiss, interim executive director of Vermont Legal Aid.
8/19/2025 Homelessness and mental health advocates warn against taking federal approach
Rutland Herald:
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/homelessness-and-mental-health-advocates-warn-against-taking-federal-approach/article_024d2f7f-2e6e-4f90-897c-8ced632ee829.html
Deanna Hartog, Vermont poverty law fellow with Vermont Legal Aid, said her organization is representing many people in fair hearings before the Human Services Board, time which could be spent better elsewhere.
8/14/2025 Amid health insurance affordability crisis, most Vermont hospitals seek moderate budget changes at annual hearings
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/08/14/amid-health-insurance-affordability-crisis-most-vermont-hospitals-seek-moderate-budget-changes-at-annual-hearings/
The high cost of health insurance in Vermont reflects the overall high cost of health care in the state, and the decisions of insurers, hospital and regulatory health care leaders, Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher said in an interview Thursday.
8/13/2025 State appeals motel voucher time limit decision to Vermont Supreme Court
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/08/13/state-appeals-motel-voucher-time-limit-decision-to-vermont-supreme-court/
Griffin said she was aware of her organization’s involvement in roughly 20 active cases of this kind. “Our intake is certainly way up just the past couple days,” she said.
8/12/2025 White River Junction tenants scramble for housing following rent increase
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/08/12/white-river-junction-tenants-scramble-for-housing-following-rent-increase/
Because there is no binding legal precedent that interprets what the law is in this situation, “unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer,” Rachel Batterson, an attorney at Vermont Legal Aid, said.
8/8/2025 Vermont Legal Aid claims victory in appeals case over hotel program eligibility
Rutland Herald:
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/vermont-legal-aid-claims-victory-in-appeals-case-over-hotel-program-eligibility/article_ee07b2a5-1564-4b6a-97de-39cd8ebf8685.html
"... the case on appeal was that of a woman with stage-five kidney disease... Griffin said Vermont Legal Aid is getting the word out to people who were exited from the program on July 1 to apply, and if denied, appeal. They should then contact Vermont Legal Aid."
8/8/2025 Vermont board: People leaving hotel-motel program must be given 80 more days
ABC-22/FOX-44:
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/vermont/vermont-board-people-leaving-hotel-motel-program-must-be-given-80-more-days/
“This decision recognizes that Vermont’s most vulnerable residents — people with severe medical conditions, families with children, and others in crisis — shouldn’t face homelessness due to bureaucratic interpretations that go beyond what the law actually requires,” Griffin stated. ... “This decision means I might actually have safe housing options while I continue looking for permanent housing,” said H.D. in a statement provided through legal counsel.
8/6/2025 Vermont Legal Aid says federal cuts could jeopardize access to justice
WCAX-TV3:
https://www.wcax.com/2025/08/06/vermont-legal-aid-says-federal-cuts-could-jeopardize-access-justice/
"...after losing $500,000 in federal funding, and with more cuts to come, they’re under serious financial strain and may not be able to keep meeting the needs of Vermonters."
8/4/2025 How Medicaid cuts and federal policy changes will impact health care access for Vermont’s noncitizens
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/08/04/how-medicaid-cuts-and-federal-policy-changes-will-impact-health-care-access-for-vermonts-noncitizens/
“There’s a lot of Vermonters with a whole range of different immigration statuses, and they are the people who are putting on our roofs and helping milk our cows,” Mike Fisher, Vermont’s health care advocate, who helps people navigate the health care system, told VT Digger. “It’s so disheartening to see an attack on their access to health care.”
7/28/2025 COVID funds used to help fuel tank owners
Times Argus:
https://www.timesargus.com/news/covid19/covid-funds-used-to-help-fuel-tank-owners/article_56c3688c-0986-5054-89d7-cfc8a94f5bdc.html
Cota said the state has an aid program that people can apply for to help repair or replace a tank, but it had run out of funds. That was until Vermont Legal Aid pointed out that certain people unable to heat their homes because of a faulty fuel tank were technically homeless and that COVID Relief Funds could then be used to help.
7/25/2025 In hearings, Vermont health insurers and regulators work to reduce 2026 premium increases
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/07/25/vermont-health-insurers-reduce-requests-for-2026-premium-increases/
The proposed reduction in rates for MVP has a “clear and positive impact,” Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher said during the MVP rate hearing. However, the widening divide between the cost of the plans from the marketplace’s two insurers is concerning. “A large and growing price variation between the two carriers has a substantial and real negative impact on many Vermonters,” Fisher said at the MVP hearing.
7/20/2025 Nursing home operator with troubled Vermont facilities files for bankruptcy
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/07/20/nursing-home-operator-with-troubled-vermont-facilities-files-for-bankruptcy/
Kaili Kuiper, the state’s long-term care ombudsman with Vermont Legal Aid, said the organization has heard complaints from residents at Genesis-operated facilities and other privately run, private equity-backed facilities in the state of poor food quality and staff turnover, which indicate challenges in providing “good quality, patient centered care.”
Sam Peisch, a health policy analyst with the state’s Health Care Advocate’s Office at Vermont Legal Aid, said there is broad consensus and concern regarding increasing private equity ownership of nursing homes due to lack of quality care, staffing level and health outcomes.
7/10/2025 Vermont Planned Parenthood health centers will lose millions under Trump law
Vermont Public:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-07-10/vermont-planned-parenthood-health-centers-lose-millions-under-trump-law
“Undermining Planned Parenthood's ability to provide care just goes in the wrong direction of trying to get people access to basic primary care,” Mike Fisher, the state’s health care advocate with Vermont Legal Aid, said in an interview last month.
6/18/2025 Warning of mass unsheltering - Advocates for homeless cry foul over limits
Rutland Herald:
https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/advocates-for-homeless-cry-foul-over-limits/article_38f02aec-1188-4dcc-86e7-d5329ba10c76.html
“The state has not made good on its promise to make sure that these months were used to make sure people could find long-term housing, in part because there is no long-term housing out there for many people. We are in the midst of a housing crisis. There is nowhere for people to go,” said Maryellen Griffin, an attorney with Vermont Legal Aid.
6/18/2025 Officials estimate 45,000 in Vermont could lose health insurance under Trump tax cut bill
Vermont Public:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-06-18/officials-estimate-45-000-in-vermont-could-lose-health-insurance-under-trump-tax-cut-bill
"Vermont's health care system is really vulnerable and a shock like this will destabilize the whole thing," said Mike Fisher from the Office of the Health Care Advocate.
6/17/2025 Advocates plead with Gov. Phil Scott to extend motel eligibility for families and those with acute medical needs
VPR/VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/17/advocates-plead-with-gov-phil-scott-to-extend-motel-eligibility-for-families-and-those-with-acute-medical-needs/
“We are in the midst of a housing crisis. There’s nowhere for people to go,” said Maryellen Griffin, a staff attorney with Vermont Legal Aid. “People will be camping in sidewalks, parks, river banks, empty lots.”
6/12/2025 Gov. Phil Scott signs into law two bills to address Vermont’s high health care costs
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/12/gov-phil-scott-signs-into-law-2-bills-to-address-vermonts-high-health-care-costs/
“We have no choice,” Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said Thursday. “There’s a substantial risk that we’re going to lose key providers in communities around the state if we don’t intervene.”
5/29/2025 Successful housing justice conference
Shriver Center on Poverty Law website:
https://www.povertylaw.org/article/gathering-in-new-england-aims-to-strengthen-housing-justice-in-region/
Vermont Legal Aid co-hosted the first-ever Justice in Housing: New England conference. An article about this well-received event appeared on May 29.
5/29/2025 Fair Housing Exhibit Reception with Young Writers Project & A Revolutionary Press
Times Argus:
https://www.timesargus.com/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/198637x-fair-housing-exhibit-reception-with-young-writers-project-a-revolutionary-press
CVOEO coordinates April Fair Housing Month activities in collaboration with a statewide network of housing, community, and arts partners, including … Vermont Legal Aid.
5/29/2025 Vermont governor weekly briefing
WAMC Northeast Public Radio:
https://www.wamc.org/news/2025-05-29/vermont-governor-focuses-on-education-reform-progress-in-the-legislature-during-weekly-briefing
Vermont Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher praised state legislators for addressing what he says is a health care crisis in the state. “It is an affordability crisis for Vermont families but it’s also a health care financing crisis,” Fisher said.
5/23/2025 Letter to the Editor: The $15 million case for legal aid in Vermont
Brattleboro Reformer:
https://www.reformer.com/opinion/letters/letter-to-the-editor-the-15-million-case-for-legal-aid-in-vermont/article_0b731140-decb-4c5b-9ed6-a60d9ce2397e.html
VT Digger:
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/may/14/hannah-king-15-million-case-legal-aid-vermont
Op-Ed by Hannah King, Vermont Bar Foundation Executive Director. "The Small Business Law Clinic, in collaboration with Vermont Legal Aid and the Vermont Bar Association, helped nearly 300 small businesses, many of them recovering from catastrophic floods, creating over $3.1 million in economic benefit."
5/23/2025 Vermont Bar Foundation awards over $1 Million to support civil legal services
Vermont Biz:
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/may/23/vermont-bar-foundation-awards-over-1-million-support-civil-legal-services
2025 Grantees Include: Association of Africans Living in Vermont; Atria Collective; Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School; Community Restorative Justice Center; Have Justice Will Travel; Hope Works; Migrant Justice; Vermont Asylum Assistance Project; Community Asylum Seekers Project; NewStory Center; Steps to End Domestic Violence; Vermont Bar Association; Vermont Legal Aid; and Legal Services Vermont.
5/20/2025 At Winooski forum, education reform, immigration and taxes on residents’ minds
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/05/20/education-reform-immigration-and-taxes-on-winooski-residents-minds-at-forum/
Panelists directed concerned speakers to resources available in the state, such as Vermont Legal Aid, Vermont Law School clinic, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project and pro bono and low-cost lawyer options available through the Vermont Bar Association.
5/20/2025 Sanders says Vermont's 'broken and wildly expensive' health care system must be fixed
Burlington Free Press:
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2025/05/20/press-conference-bernie-sanders-vermont-broken-health-care-system-green-mountain-care-board/83732475007/
Sanders was joined at the press conference by Sen. Virginia "Ginny" Lyons, chair of the Vermont Senate Health and Welfare Committee; Rep. Alyssa Black, chair of the Vermont House Health Care Committee; Owen Foster, chair of the Green Mountain Care Board; Lisa Ventriss, co-chair of Vermont Health Care 911 and former president of the Vermont Business Roundtable; Mike Fisher, Chief Health Care Advocate at Vermont Legal Aid, and Jacob Berkowitz, president of UVM Support Staff United.
5/16/2025 Former Bellows Falls man found competent to stand trial — 21 years later
Brattleboro Reformer:
https://www.reformer.com/local-news/former-bellows-falls-man-found-competent-to-stand-trial-21-years-later/article_d117277d-813d-49b1-9a95-dfeeb2622e60.html
The case has been to the Vermont Supreme Court and back, and Armstrong's attorneys have tried to have the case against him dismissed for lack of a speedy trial several times. Most recently Vermont Legal Aid represented Armstrong and argued for dismissal of the charges, citing the American with Disabilities Act, as well as the speedy trial issue.
5/16/2025 Court-ordered agreement gives prior notice to hotel-motel recipients losing benefits
WCAX-TV3:
https://www.wcax.com/2025/05/16/court-ordered-agreement-gives-prior-notice-hotel-motel-recipients-losing-benefits/
The agreement between homeless advocates and the Department for Children and Families comes on the heels of a judge’s temporary restraining order last month over the state’s handling of the motel voucher program. The new agreement says DCF must allow those in the program to renew their authorization at least 10 days before they are set to be kicked out.
5/13/2025 Health insurers ask to increase health plan premiums, amid rising health care costs
Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said health insurance is already unaffordable for many Vermonters, even before next year’s rate hikes. Large increases — and the potential for decreased federal help — “will be incredibly difficult, or devastating, for many Vermonters and Vermont small businesses,” Fisher said.
5/10/2025 Financial Struggles have pushed Vermont’s largest health insurer to the brink
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/05/07/financial-struggles-have-pushed-vermonts-largest-health-insurer-to-the-brink/
Still, increasing insurance premiums are “a tremendous economic strain on every part of Vermont,” Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher told lawmakers last month.
5/7/2025 Health Care Leaders Are Scrambling to Prevent Another Major Insurance Hike
Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/health-care-leaders-are-scrambling-to-prevent-another-major-insurance-hike-43475520
Mike Fisher, Vermont's health care advocate, wondered who will be making those final decisions: hospital executives, who can understandably struggle to look beyond their own interests, or the Scott administration, which has proven reluctant to mandate changes to the health care system.
5/7/2025 Lawmakers Debate Bills They Hope Will Make Immigrants Safe
Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/lawmakers-debate-bills-they-hope-will-make-immigrants-safe-43475204
Hundreds of Vermont families are headed by undocumented parents. What happens to the kids, many of whom were born in the U.S. and are therefore citizens, when parents are detained or deported? They're currently at risk of being placed in the custody of the Department for Children and Families until they are 18…"Nobody wants that. Parents don't want that. DCF doesn't want that," Barbara Prine, a Vermont Legal Aid attorney, told lawmakers.
5/1/2025 Judge orders state to give motel voucher recipients more notice before evicting them
“For many people, access to emergency housing is literally a matter of life and death,” said Maryellen Griffin, a staff attorney at Vermont Legal Aid, which is representing service providers and motel program participants in the ongoing case. “This allows people to understand what is happening to them before it happens to them.”
5/1/2025 VLGS Commencement speaker the Honorable Patricia Whalen
Vermont Biz:
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/may/01/vlgs-commencement-speaker-honorable-patricia-whalen
“The strong advocacy I developed during my years at Vermont Law and Graduate School and my early years at Vermont Legal Aid helped lay the bricks to a path I am very proud to have followed," Whalen said.
3/31/2025 VAHHS: Budget bill includes health-related items
Vermont Business Magazine
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/march/31/vahhs-budget-bill-includes-health-related-items
The Health Care Advocate discussed how Vermont is particularly vulnerable to private equity bad practices at the moment while acknowledging that legislating the issue is complex and would take stakeholder work.
4/1/2025 Bill introduced to regulate Heath Care Sharing Ministries in Vermont
Vermont Business Magazine
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/april/01/casey-and-white-introduce-bill-regulate-health-care-sharing-ministries-vermont
Vermont Legal Aid’s Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher added, “At our office, we routinely hear from Vermonters who mistakenly believe they’re covered - only to find out when it’s too late that these ministries don’t pay. Many of them could have purchased real health insurance for less. This legislation is crucial to protect Vermonters.”
4/1/2025 ‘We are in a crisis situation,’ Vermont’s top health care regulator says
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont-edition/2025-04-01/we-are-in-a-crisis-situation-vermonts-top-health-care-regulator-says
AND
Addison County Independent
https://www.addisonindependent.com/2025/04/10/vt-healthcare-system-is-at-a-breaking-point/
“Brace yourselves,” as Vermont’s chief health care advocate Mike Fisher put it on Vermont Edition last month. “We haven’t changed the way we’re practicing, so why would we get a different result?” he said.
4/2/2025 Final Reading: Lawmakers look to reform Human Services Board
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/04/02/final-reading-lawmakers-look-to-reform-human-services-board/
And Maryellen Griffin, a staff attorney at Vermont Legal Aid, said Wednesday that board hearings are often full of legalistic jargon that can be confusing to people with little knowledge of the justice system. The board’s timelines for hearing processes should also be sped up, she said.
4/3/2025 After a year of looking, White River Junction couple finds new home
Valley News
https://www.vnews.com/elderly-couple-facing-eviction-finds-new-apartment-60309744
Rachel Batterson of Vermont Legal Aid represented the couple at no cost to them.
4/16/2025 Final Reading: Vermont Senate looks to bolster protections for kids whose parents face immigration enforcement
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/04/16/final-reading-vermont-senate-looks-to-bolster-protections-for-kids-whose-parents-face-immigration-enforcement/
Vermont Legal Aid already helps parents who don’t have legal status in the U.S. prepare emergency guardianship plans as a precautionary measure, the organization told senators this month — but supports H.98 because the bill would codify a similar process in state law.
4/20/2025 Opinion: Rachel Batterson: H.169 would help fight housing discrimination
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/04/20/rachel-batterson-h-169-would-help-fight-housing-discrimination/
Rachel Batterson, Housing Discrimination Law Project Director, “We need these protections more than ever as the federal government attacks immigrants and undermines civil rights laws.”
4/22/2025 Vermont Legislature passes bill to erase medical debt
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/04/22/legislature-passes-bill-to-erase-medical-debt/
AND
Valley News
https://www.vnews.com/Vermont-Legislature-passes-bill-to-erase-medical-debt-60789222
Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, told lawmakers this month that the bill was an important step forward in helping Vermonters find relief from health care debt.
3/26/2025 UVM Health Network agrees to tentative settlement with Green Mountain Care Board
“If I had an ability to influence what’s before you today, I would attempt to move towards more immediate rate relief for Vermonters,” Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said at the meeting.
3/19/2025 DOGE Cuts will hobble defenses against housing discrimination
Seven Days
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/doge-cuts-will-hobble-defenses-against-housing-discrimination-43118537
Vermont Legal Aid submitted its latest enforcement grant application last fall, at a time when the Biden administration was looking for grantees to demonstrate their commitment to diversity, especially racial justice. [Housing discrimination] project director Rachel Batterson expects to receive a rejection letter from the Trump administration soon. Without that grant, Vermont Legal Aid won't be able to take on new clients in housing discrimination cases for the foreseeable future. That could leave low-income plaintiffs without lawyers to represent them.
3/18/2025 Federal gov't cutting 80% of funding to VT's only fair housing project: Here's the impact
Shutting down the state's only dedicated fair housing education and outreach program would have dire repercussions - especially at a time when our enforcement partners at the Vermont Human Rights Commission and Vermont Legal Aid are also underfunded and not able to keep up with the volume of complaints and investigations. Rachel Batterson, the Director of The Housing Discrimination Law Project at Vermont Legal Aid and a CVOEO partner, works with Vermonters providing legal assistance with housing cases. She has advice to those who may be worried about losing resources. “The law is still good, what’s been changing is the ability of groups to enforce the law or to educate about the law. You can still file a case in state or federal courts or with the Human Rights Commission... But you can still call us or CVOEO for help,” she said.
Burlington Free Press
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2025/03/18/champlain-valley-office-for-economic-opportunity-fair-housing-project-losing-federal-funding/82488121007/
My Champlain Valley
https://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/local-news/cvoeos-fair-housing-project-suffers-federal-funding-cut
3/18/2025 Advocates: Hunger in Vermont is a failure of federal leadership
Vermont Business Magazine
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/march/18/advocates-hunger-vermont-failure-federal-leadership
“Making programs like SNAP more restrictive would only hurt Vermonters. Each new procedural hurdle imposed by federal lawmakers causes unnecessary interruptions in benefits, stress for families and more work for the state employees administering these programs,” said Olivia Graffeo-Cohen, staff attorney at Vermont Legal Aid.
3/17/2025 VAHHS: Blue Cross finances, lawmakers take on health care problems
Vermont Business Magazine
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/march/17/vahhs-blue-cross-finances-lawmakers-take-health-care-problems
The Health Care Advocate’s bill, H.80, passed out of the House Health Care Committee. The Health Care Advocate will have more involvement in health insurance rate filings, state agency meetings, and the CON process.
3/14/2025 Lawmakers seek to lower Vermont hospital costs, strengthen health care regulator
The bills also reflect what Vermont’s Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher described as an increasing concern about the University of Vermont Health Network’s role in the state health care ecosystem. “I hear a great deal of skepticism from legislators about the way money is flowing through the health network, and about its impact on the health care system,” Fisher said. “And I think that’s apparent by the language that’s being considered.”
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/03/14/lawmakers-seek-to-lower-vermont-hospital-costs-strengthen-health-care-regulator/
Valley News
https://www.vnews.com/Lawmakers-seek-to-lower-Vermont-hospital-costs-strengthen-health-care-regulator-60073964
3/11/2025 Why Vermont's health insurance costs keep going up
Vermont Public
https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/vermont-edition/2025-03-11/why-vermonts-health-insurance-costs-keep-going-up
Chief Health Care Advocate for Vermont Legal Aid Mike Fisher answers your questions about our health care system.
3/6/2025 Vermont was selected for a new federal health care reform program. Under Trump, will it happen at all?
“It’s hard for me to fathom a world in which a payment reform plan that has the word ‘equity’ in its title is going to live going forward,” Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, told lawmakers on the Senate health and welfare committee last week.
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/03/03/vermont-was-selected-for-a-new-federal-health-care-reform-program-under-trump-will-it-happen-at-all
Valley News
https://www.vnews.com/Vermont-was-selected-for-a-new-federal-health-care-reform-program-Under-Trump-will-it-happen-at-all-5977200
Feb and March 2025 Support S.27 for medical debt relief
Commentary by Michael Fisher, Chief Vermont Health Care Advocate. "At the Office of the Health Care Advocate, we often hear from Vermonters who are forced to make impossible choices between getting medical treatment and paying for basic needs like food, housing and heat."
Brattleboro Reformer
https://www.reformer.com/opinion/letters/letter-to-the-editor-support-s-27-an-act-relating-to-medical-debt-relief/article_3d890d14-f388-11ef-a8c7-8bd0b536044c.html
VT Digger
https://vtdigger.org/2025/03/09/mike-fisher-support-s-27-an-act-relating-to-medical-debt-relief/
Seven Days
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/letters-to-the-editor-3-12-25-43064627
Waterbury Roundabout:
https://www.waterburyroundabout.org/opinion-archive/commentary-support-s27-for-medical-debt-reliefnbspnbsp
Addison Independent:
https://www.addisonindependent.com/2025/02/27/letter-to-the-editor-support-s-27-medical-debt-relief-act/
2/17/2025 Vt. Lawmakers unveil proposal to erase medical debt
MSN.com:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/vt-lawmakers-unveil-proposal-to-erase-medical-debt/ar-AA1xBPpi?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
“We hear from Vermonters when they get advice that they need more care or they have a condition they’re worried about, they are afraid to go get care because they are afraid to incur more debt,” said Vermont Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher.
2/2/2025 King: The Growing Justice Gap in Vermont
VermontBiz:
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/march/02/king-growing-justice-gap-vermont
Commentary by by Hannah King, Executive Director of the Vermont Bar Foundation. The 2024 Vermont Statewide Legal Needs Assessment (VLA and Legal Services Vermont) paints a stark picture. Thousands of Vermonters face legal challenges without representation, often navigating complex legal systems alone.
1/31/2025 Trump order curbing access to gender-affirming care for youth creates ‘a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear’ in Vermont
Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, acknowledged there was “a great deal of fear and uncertainty” provoked by the order but emphasized that such health care services remain protected in Vermont.
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/01/30/trump-order-curbing-access-to-gender-affirming-care-for-youth-creates-a-lot-of-anxiety-and-a-lot-of-fear-in-vermont/
and
Valley News:
https://www.vnews.com/Trump-order-curbing-access-to-gender-affirming-care-for-youth-creates-a-lot-of-anxiety-and-a-lot-of-fear-in-Vermont-59211807
1/30/2025 Pieciak Announces Plan To Eliminate $100m In Medical Debt
Mountain Times:
https://mountaintimes.info/2025/01/29/pieciak-announces-plan-to-eliminate-100m-in-medical-debt/
“Relieving the burden of medical debt will help people focus on their health, not their bank accounts,” said Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher. “This means more people getting care at the right time, leading to better health outcomes for individuals.”
1/27/2025 Is Vermont facing an eviction crisis?
WCAX-TV3:
https://www.wcax.com/video/2025/01/28/is-vermont-facing-an-eviction-crisis/
The Green Mountain State has an eviction crisis. That’s according to a new report from Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. Reporter: "Their latest and most staggering finding is that evictions have increased 45% in the last five years."
1/23/2025 UVM Health Network executives made $3 million in bonuses in 2025
Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said in an interview that hospital leaders should “understand what a horrible message something like this sends” in a state struggling to pay for health care.
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/01/23/uvm-health-network-executives-made-3-million-in-bonuses-in-2024/
The Montpelier Bridge:
https://montpelierbridge.org/2025/01/uvm-health-network-executives-made-3-million-in-bonuses-in-2024/
1/22/2025 Lawmakers contemplate the end of expanded federal health insurance subsidies
VT Digger:
https://vtdigger.org/2025/01/22/final-reading-lawmakers-contemplate-the-end-of-expanded-federal-health-insurance-subsidies/
“My opinion, given who Congress is and the presidency, is that we plan for the reality that we won’t have enhanced tax credits next year,” Chief Health Care advocate Mike Fisher told lawmakers in the House Committee on Health Care Wednesday afternoon.
1/21/2025 Pieciak and lawmakers announce plan to eliminate $100 million in medical debt
Vermont Public:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-01-21/elected-officials-want-to-wipe-out-vermonters-medical-debt-using-state-funds
While uninsured Vermonters tend to face higher out-of-pocket costs for health care services, Mike Fisher, Vermont’s chief health care advocate, said high copays and deductibles have made medical debt a serious financial issue even for Vermonters who are insured.
WCAX-TV3:
https://www.wcax.com/2025/01/21/vt-lawmakers-unveil-proposal-erase-medical-debt/
“We hear from Vermonters when they get advice that they need more care or they have a condition they’re worried about, they are afraid to go get care because they are afraid to incur more debt,” said Vermont Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher.
Valley News:
https://www.vnews.com/health-care-debt-in-vermont-58991296
“Medical debt is a structural outcome,” said Mike Fisher, chief health care advocate at Vermont Legal Aid.
VermontBiz:
https://vermontbiz.com/news/2025/january/21/pieciak-and-lawmakers-announce-plan-eliminate-100-million-medical-debt
“Relieving the burden of medical debt will help people focus on their health, not their bank accounts,” said Chief Health Care Advocate Mike Fisher. “This means more people getting care at the right time, leading to better health outcomes for individuals.”
Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/state-treasurer-pieciak-proposes-medical-debt-relief-program-42712709
Mike Fisher, Vermont's health care advocate, said he routinely hears from people who are anxious and even ashamed because of bills they can't pay… "Medical debt is a structural outcome," Fisher said. "It's something we know will happen based on the way our health care system is structured."
1/16/2025 The head of Vermont’s largest insurance company says health care spending is out of control
"We have a healthcare financing system that is not functioning,” said Mike Fisher, the state’s chief health care advocate. “So the BlueCross letter becomes sort of a blinking red light.”
Vermont Public:
https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-01-16/vermonts-largest-insurance-company-bluecross-blueshield-says-health-care-spending-out-of-control
NHPR:
https://www.nhpr.org/2025-01-16/vermonts-largest-insurance-company-bluecross-blueshield-says-health-care-spending-out-of-contro
1/10/2025 Judge suggests dismissal of 73 counts against mentally ill man
Brattleboro Reformer:
https://www.reformer.com/local-news/judge-suggests-dismissal-of-73-counts-against-mentally-ill-man/article_ba239bbe-cdfe-11ef-8d64-d3a7ea2ddf46.html
Treadwell told the lawyers, which included Windham County Deputy State's Attorney Johns Congdon, Jack McCullough of Vermont Legal Aid's Mental Health Project, Rick Ammons of the Windham County Public Defender's office and Zachary Taylor of the Vermont Department of Mental Health, that "in the interests of justice" he would be interested in seeing a motion to dismiss the dozens of charges… McCullough said he agreed with the judge's assessment, and he noted that in the past year, there had been "no new charges" against Abdul-Kareem.
1/3/2025 Report shows low-income Vermonters’ challenges in accessing legal help
Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid Publish recently produced the Vermont Legal Needs Assessment Report. It found vulnerable Vermonters continue to face broad and unmet civil legal needs, particularly when it comes to evictions and other housing issues.
WCAX-TV3:
https://www.wcax.com/2025/01/03/report-shows-low-income-vermonters-challenges-accessing-legal-help/
MSN.com:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/report-shows-low-income-vermonters-challenges-in-accessing-legal-help/ar-AA1wVL
1/3/2025 Capitol Beat: Legislative session to open next week
Times Argus:
https://www.timesargus.com/news/local/capitol-beat-legislative-session-to-open-next-week/article_32ff7fd2-c9e8-11ef-81ed-1b5f85cec1b2.html
Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid reviewed a range of objective and subjective data, including requests for help to their systems, web analytics, court data and input through public meetings and surveys, to determine the most persistent areas of unmet civil legal need. “Our report makes it clear that the ‘justice gap’ is widening and we need to bridge that gap in Vermont,” said Sam Abel-Palmer, executive director of Legal Services Vermont.
1/2/2025 Hospital pricing reform could save Vermonters millions, study suggests
Addison Independent:
https://www.addisonindependent.com/2025/01/02/uvmhn-expands-in-ny-while-making-cuts-in-vt/
In comments submitted to the Green Mountain Care Board in August, Vermont’s chief health care advocate Mike Fisher and his staff members charged that the network “has consistently weakened its financial position by choosing to transfer monies to the New York hospitals.”