The 2025 legislative session officially adjourned in mid-June — much later than has been the norm. It was a long and challenging session due to an abundance of budgetary needs and a scarcity of resources. Back in January, legislative leaders were clear that key priorities for the session were education finance reform, alleviating the housing crisis, and health care reform. Given this challenging budgetary environment, two of our top three priorities fared pretty well. However, there has been an unfortunate turn of events regarding Medicaid reimbursement rates, which presents ongoing challenges for our organization.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) discussed his new bipartisan, bicameral legislation to expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicaid, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, while visiting Thayer House in Burlington. Senator Welch was joined at Thayer House by a clinician from Cathedral Square’s Support and Services at Home (SASH) program, Vermont patients, and health care providers.
Long-term care communities support our most vulnerable. For far too long, direct care staff have been underpaid and underappreciated. During the pandemic, they were our heroes – caring for people 24/7. During COVID outbreaks, they went to work in gowns and shields, continuing to offer compassionate care, often risking their own lives. Yet the Governor’s budget doesn’t seem to care for them. While we are grateful that the budget does include necessary funding for our SASH® (Support and Services at Home) model, the SFY26 budget does not include an increase in funding for long-term care providers and communities that accept Medicaid.
The Vermont Housing & Conservation Coalition (VHCC) is hosting its annual Legislative Day at the State House in Montpelier on Friday, February 14 and we hope you will join us! VHCC advocates for the State to allocate funds to the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, allowing for more affordable housing to be built and more open space and farms to be conserved.
This is an opportunity for you to speak directly with your elected officials about why affordable housing is important to you. Several of our staff will be there throughout the day to help you connect with your legislators and share your story.
The 2024 legislative session was marked by a need for significant investment in housing, education financing, and flood recovery, among others, and limited existing resources. Cathedral Square’s top three legislative priorities, which included the need for additional investments in housing, services, long-term care and SASH, were impacted by the resource-scarce environment of the 2024 session. The outcomes on our priorities were mixed with some progress made but much more work to be done as we embark on planning for next year’s priorities!
The Vermont Housing & Conservation Coalition (VHCC) is hosting its annual Legislative Day at the State House in Montpelier on Wednesday, February 14 and we hope you will join us! This is an opportunity for you to speak directly with your elected officials about why affordable housing is important to you. Several of our staff will be there throughout the day to help you connect with your legislators and share your story. And there will be ice cream!
Cathedral Square’s top three legislative priorities fared well after a tumultuous end to the 2023 legislative session. Increases include Medicaid reimbursement rates and the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) base budget, plus one-time funding to continue the SASH for All pilot and invest in housing production and rehabilitation. None of these priorities would have been realized without working with partner organizations through coalitions such as the Long-Term Care Crisis Coalition, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition, and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition, to name a few.
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition (VHCC) Legislative Day presents an opportunity for housing and conservation partners to raise awareness about the importance of Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) investments and community results. Legislators need to hear from you—Vermonters doing the work on the ground—about ways VHCB investments are addressing some of Vermont’s most pressing issues, such as homelessness, water quality, rural economic development, and more.
Cathedral Square is proud to join with many of our housing partners from around Vermont to urge the state to increase its investment in affordable housing by $175 million during the 2023 legislative session. We recognize that safe, affordable housing is the foundation of health, individual and community well-being, and economic, racial, and social justice. We urge incoming lawmakers to prioritize funding for affordable housing so that all Vermonters can thrive.
Every year, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition (VHCC), of which Cathedral Square is an active member, hosts Legislative Day at the State House. This year the event is virtual, so let's fill the Zoom room and show legislators the broad range of support for affordable housing and land conservation throughout Vermont. The hour-long kickoff starts at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Read more and join us!
