A central figure in Vermont’s health care reform efforts plans to step away from the fray this spring.
Green Mountain Care board member Robin Lange submitted her resignation to Gov. Phil Scott in December, and her resignation will be effective in early April, she announced Friday. She attributed this move to a desire to make a difference in her professional life.
“I’ve been in state government for quite some time,” Lange said, noting her various stages of working in various areas of state health policy for more than 20 years. “It has been my life’s work to serve the people of Vermont.”
Before joining the health board in 2016, Lange worked as director of health reform under Gov. Peter Shumlin, who pushed for the creation of a statewide single-payer health care plan. In that role, she helped develop a framework aimed at revamping the state’s health care system, including the creation of the Green Mountain Care Commission. Previously, he served in the state Legislature, advising legislators on legal matters related to health and human services.
When the cost of single-payer plans proved too high, Mr. Lange became the lead negotiator with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on a custom-built “all-payer” arrangement for Vermont only. gave states unprecedented flexibility in how they pay for their portion of health care costs. Flows through these federal insurance programs are utilized.
Shumlin first appointed Lange to the care committee. Scott reelected her for a one-year term in 2022 and then for a six-year term in 2023.
The state is already looking for a replacement for Lange’s high-profile job; List this week’s positions. The five-member board has jurisdiction over hospital and accountable care organization budgets, insurance rate requirements, and significant capital investments in health care facilities, and oversees various stakeholders in the health care system.
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Board members receive state salaries (just under $130,000 for a 32-hour work week) and state benefits, according to the post. By statute, board members are selected by the governor from a list of candidates prepared by a nominating committee comprised of nine members representing the administration and both chambers of Congress.
During Runge’s tenure, the Care Board has undergone significant personnel changes, with two new members appointed in 2021 and 2022, Tom Walsh and David Mirman, and a new chair appointed in 2022. Mr. Owen Foster was appointed. Boards have become more aggressive in pushing back against rising hospital prices and questioning the effectiveness of “all-pay” models that rely on accountable care organizations to enforce many medical costs. reform.
OneCare Vermont, the state’s only “all-pay” accountable care organization, which has contracts with both public and private insurers, has announced that 2025 will be its last year of operation. . This year also marks the final year of Vermont’s unique federal compact.
Vermont has been accepted into a successor program called the AHEAD program and has until June to decide whether to participate.
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Runge said she is currently figuring out what type of job is right for her next, but plans to go into consulting or nonprofit work.
Her resignation from the Care Commission coincides with a generally slower pace of work for regulators. But she acknowledged that she was leaving office with major issues remaining, including next steps regarding coordination with federal insurance programs.
“Medical reform and health care are areas that have been on my agenda throughout my professional life,” she said. “There’s always more to do.”
