Health priority rankings: visiting nurses, SASH and referral clinics emerge among top requests

A legislative budget subcommittee on Feb. 18 completed its internal ranking of health-related budget asks and prepared to send the ranked spreadsheet and a short letter to the House appropriations committee.

Members took turns reading their top-five priorities and explaining their choices. Program names that frequently appeared near the top of members' lists included the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA), SASH (a supportive-housing model for low-income seniors), Vermont Free and Referral Clinics, Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), and Vermont Care Partners. Members emphasized workforce shortages, the role of visiting nurses in preventing hospitalizations, and community outreach services that connect vulnerable residents to care.

The process used ranked scoring: each member listed five priorities ranked 1–5; ranks received 5–1 points respectively and the committee summed the totals. Committee staff tallied the points and announced the highest-scoring priorities at the session's close. The chair said the spreadsheet and an accompanying letter explaining values and context would be drafted for transmission to appropriations.

Members also discussed whether the committee letter should include broader fiscal commentary about revenue choices; some urged a values statement, while others cautioned against politicizing the technical submission to appropriations. The committee agreed to draft a concise letter reflecting priorities and review it the following day.

Next steps: staff will prepare the ranked spreadsheet and draft letter for the committee to approve and send to appropriations.