A Washington County Superior Court judge has ordered OneCare Vermont to provide information about executive salaries to the Green Mountain Care Board, a victory for the board in its quest to examine OneCare’s compensation practices.
The dispute between the state’s health care regulator and the nonprofit accountable care organization dates back to last year, when the care board sought details of how OneCare calculated compensation for its leaders.
The care board, a governmental body empowered to regulate various aspects of Vermont’s healthcare ecosystem, had sought information on how OneCare was determining how much its executives got paid.
A subsidiary of the University of Vermont Health Network, OneCare negotiates payment rates between health care providers of all sizes — from UVM Medical Center to independent primary care doctors’ offices — and insurance providers, such as Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies. The goal, ultimately, is to lower health care costs and save consumers money.
But the care board expressed concerns about how much OneCare was spending on payments to its top-level employees, and what measures were being used to justify salaries and bonuses. Last summer, the board requested information on “benchmarks” — metrics that OneCare uses to determine how much its executives are paid.
OneCare refused to provide that info, telling board members in a June 26 letter that it did not believe the matter was “properly within the Board’s statutorily-defined purview.”
Two days later, the board issued a subpoena to OneCare seeking information about how executive pay was determined. The dispute landed in Washington County Superior Court, and in an opinion Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi ordered OneCare to comply with the care board’s subpoenas.
“Obtaining the more granular salary benchmarking and incentive information sought by the subpoena is in keeping with and furthers the (board’s) expansive oversight responsibilities under the (accountable care organization) regulatory scheme,” Tomasi wrote in his decision.
Michael Barber, the Green Mountain Care Board’s general counsel, welcomed the outcome in a brief interview.
“It was well thought-out,” he said. “And recognized the board’s authority in this area and ability to get information through a subpoena.”
Spokespeople for OneCare did not respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether OneCare planned to appeal the decision.
