After two years waiting for The Green Mountain Care Board's decision, a group of independent physicians received board approval to build a surgery center in Colchester, Vt., according to Burlington Free Press.
Here are seven things to know:
1. Green Mountain Surgery Center received its certificate of need July 10.
2. The decision comes two years after opposition from the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems and Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center.
3. Con Hogan, a Green Mountain Care Board member, stated in a dissent opinion he wanted to deny the ASC the CON, stating issuing the CON will harm the board's relationships with hospitals.
He stated, "They simply will not trust us. As a result, the hospital budget process will become increasingly hostile, especially as hospitals find themselves under mounting financial pressure."
4. Among those advocating for the center included Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, the state's largest insurance company. The payer expressed its support in March 2017.
5. In April 2017, Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems CEO and President Jeff Tieman wrote a commentary against the ASC proposal in the VT Digger, saying the state's "highly regulated hospitals" are dedicated to providing high-quality care at low costs and hospitals abide to state and federal regulatory requirements. Mr. Tieman said the state does not regulate surgery centers. If the surgery center comes to fruition, Vermont will not have authority to oversee its financial practices.
6. Amy Cooper, the ASC's lead investor, has been committed to the surgery center since first filing the CON in July 2015. She was not available to Burlington Free Press for comment.
7. In March 2016, Ms. Cooper told Burlington Free Press the ASC will offer less expensive procedures. For instance, she said the ASC could offer a colonoscopy for between $1,000 and $1,500, which is less than half of what UVM Medical Center could offer.