§ 9491. Health care workforce; strategic plan

(a) The Director of Health Care Reform in the Agency of Human Services shall oversee the development of a current health care workforce development strategic plan that continues efforts to ensure that Vermont has the health care workforce necessary to provide care to all Vermont residents. The Director of Health Care Reform may designate an entity responsible for convening meetings and for preparing the draft strategic plan. The Green Mountain Care Board established in chapter 220 of this title shall review the draft strategic plan and shall approve the final plan and any subsequent modifications.

(b) The Director or designee shall collaborate with the area health education centers, the State Workforce Development Board established in 10 V.S.A. § 541a, the Prekindergarten-16 Council established in 16 V.S.A. § 2905, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health, the Department of Vermont Health Access, and other interested parties to develop and maintain the plan. The Director of Health Care Reform shall ensure that the strategic plan includes recommendations on how to develop Vermont's health care workforce, including:

(1) the current capacity and capacity issues of the health care workforce and delivery system in Vermont, including the shortages of health care professionals, specialty practice areas that regularly face shortages of qualified health care professionals, issues with geographic access to services, and unmet health care needs of Vermonters;

(2) the resources needed to ensure that:

(A) the health care workforce and the delivery system are able to provide sufficient access to services given demographic factors in the population and in the workforce, as well as other factors;

(B) the health care workforce and the delivery system are able to participate fully in health care reform initiatives, including establishing a medical home for all Vermont residents through the Blueprint for Health pursuant to chapter 13 of this title and transitioning to electronic medical records; and

(C) all Vermont residents have access to appropriate mental health care that meets standards of quality, access, and affordability equivalent to other components of health care as part of an integrated, holistic system of care;

(3) how State government, universities and colleges, the State's educational system, entities providing education and training programs related to the health care workforce, and others may develop the resources in the health care workforce and delivery system to educate, recruit, and retain health care professionals to achieve Vermont's health care reform principles and purposes;

(4) reviewing data on the extent to which individual health care professionals begin and cease to practice in their applicable fields in Vermont;

(5) identifying factors which either hinder or assist in recruitment or retention of health care professionals, including an examination of the processes for prior authorizations, and making recommendations for further improving recruitment and retention efforts;

(6) assessing the availability of State and federal funds for health care workforce development.

(c) Beginning January 15, 2013, the Director or designee shall provide the strategic plan approved by the Green Mountain Care Board to the General Assembly and shall provide periodic updates on modifications as necessary. (Added 2011, No. 48, § 12a; amended 2017, No. 85, § E.300.3, eff. June 28, 2017; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 111; 2017, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 2019, No. 14, § 59, eff. April 30, 2019.)