Gov. Phil Scott has appointed two new members to the powerful Green Mountain Care Board and re-appointed a third.
Owen Foster, a federal prosecutor who has taken the lead on several major health care fraud cases, will be board’s new chairman, according to the governor’s office. His term expires in 2024.
David Murman, an emergency medical clinician at Central Vermont Medical Center, was also newly appointed to the body that regulates health care costs in Vermont. His term expires in 2028.
And Robin Lunge, the state’s former director of health care reform under Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin, who has been a member of the Green Mountain Care Board since 2016, was re-appointed to a term expiring in 2023.
Their appointments are all effective Oct 1. In a statement released Thursday, Scott, a Republican, thanked them for agreeing to serve and warned them that “the road ahead will not be easy.”
“The impact of the pandemic and inflation that followed significantly affected our nation’s health care system,” Scott said. “Stabilizing and modernizing the delivery system, prioritizing prevention and healthier lifestyles, and ensuring equitable access to care are essential steps toward making sure health care costs are not growing faster than Vermonters’ ability to pay.”
Jessica Holmes, who has served as interim chair since former state Rep. Kevin Mullin’s departure in August, will return to her role as a regular member of the board. Her term expires in 2026.
Foster will come to the Green Mountain Care Board from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, where he has served since 2014. He was the lead prosecutor on several major health care fraud cases, including the government’s actions against medical record companies eClinicalWorks, Inc., Greenway Health, LLC, and Practice Fusion, Inc., according to Scott’s office. Foster also played a key role in the U.S. Attorney’s criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma and the company’s $8 billion settlement with the government.
He is from Middlebury and attended the University of Vermont for his undergraduate degree and later Columbia Law School. He lives in Jericho.
“Our healthcare system is at a critical juncture, and we are facing serious challenges,” Foster said in a statement. “I am looking forward to joining the talented team at the Green Mountain Care Board and working with all stakeholders to ensure Vermonters have equitable and timely access to high quality and affordable care.”
Murman, the CVMC emergency medical clinician, leads resident and medical student education at the hospital. He previously worked at the University of Vermont Medical Center and at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in Waterbury.
“As an emergency physician, I experience a day-to-day snapshot of much of the regional health care system. From primary care and nursing home challenges to mental health and regional transfer capabilities, I see these struggles and successes daily,” Murman said in a statement.
The Green Mountain Care Board operates largely independently of the executive branch, although the governor gets to appoint its members. His picks must come from a list prepared by a nominating committee made up of lawmakers, administration officials and two members picked by legislative leaders and the governor.
Mike Fisher, the state’s health care advocate with Vermont Legal Aid, said he was grateful the board had a full roster — and one with ties to Vermont.
“I look forward to working with these new board members,” he said. “We have very tough work in front of us about how to find the right balance between protecting our health care institutions, and making sure Vermonters can afford to get the care they need.”
Neal Goswami, a spokesperson for the University of Vermont Health Network, the state’s largest health care provider, said the network, too, looked forward to working with the board’s new members to make “health care more equitable, control costs, and meet the growing needs of Vermonters.”
“As we and other hospitals across Vermont work to stabilize our finances for the long-term, we are encouraged by Governor Scott’s commitment to addressing the challenges facing our health care delivery system and his recent appointments to the Green Mountain Care Board,” he said.