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Vermont OTPs:
Welcome to December! Thank you to everyone who reached out and added their voices to the conversation about advocacy in Vermont. Please let us know if you attended a state open meeting and any takeaway points.
For this newsletter and the subsequent letters during the 2025/2026 legislative session -
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We will provide a few calendar notices for meetings where an OT voice would be beneficial.
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We will provide a list of legislation followed during the last session (the first of the biennial).
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We will list legislation that is still relevant and add new legislation, where an OT perspective could add value.
Please send any legislation that is on your radar to us. We will add it to this list and send updates as the session progresses. Thank you again for all your work and advocacy.
Public meetings notice and statements of attendance:
- Vermont AOE - https://education.vermont.gov/calendar
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Primary care committee medical changes - https://blueprintforhealth.vermont.gov/src/vermont-steering-committee-comprehensive-primary-health-care
- Laura Lind: I attended the October meeting of the Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Care, a multidisciplinary group comprising physicians, nurse practitioners, PAs, social workers, mental health professionals, and other primary care leaders. Members discussed priorities such as payment reform, team-based care, improving access, and innovative strategies to strengthen primary care in Vermont. OTs are welcome to attend future meetings—I plan to attend the next one on December 16 from 4:00–5:30 p.m. Having our voice at the table helps increase awareness of the value our profession brings to primary care and ensures our perspective is included in statewide initiatives.
- Opioid Settlement Advisory Meeting - https://www.healthvermont.gov/alcohol-drugs/public-meetings-comments/opioid-settlement-advisory-committee
- green mountain care board meetings - https://gmcboard.vermont.gov/monthly-schedule
- VOTA legislative committee will meet the last Wednesday of the month at 12:00 for a short lunch meeting – please let us know if you would like the meeting link.
- Save the Date: Vermont Disability Rights day at the state house has been scheduled for February 11th. Vermont Center for Independent Living and Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights are partnering to host an information day in the card room at the state house of March 11th. VOTA will have a table, and we would love to have more OTPs join us!
Legislation followed by VOTA during 2024/2025 with updates:
H.30 →An act relating to the use of seclusion and restraint on children and youth in the custody of the Department for Children and Families.
- House 1/14/2025 - Read first time and referred to the Committee on Human Services - VOTA will continue to follow.
H.13 (Act 14)→ An act relating to Medicaid payment rates for home- and community-based service providers.
S.53 (Act 50) → An act relating to Medicaid coverage for doula services.
H.54 → An act relating to cell phone-free schools. Moved into H. 480 (Act 72)
H.454 (Act 73) → An act relating to transforming Vermont’s education governance.
- Senate 6/16/2025 - House message: Governor approved bill on July 1, 2025
S.51 (Act 71) – An act relating to the Vermont unpaid caregiver tax credit.
S.36 (Act 22) - An act relating to Medicaid coverage of long-term residential treatment for co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health condition.
H.31 (Act 3) - An act relating to claim edit standards and prior authorization requirements
Please reach out with any questions or additions to the above information. Thank you all, again, for your commitment to our community and connection to the ethos of occupational therapy.
More soon,
VOTA Legislative committee
Letter from the Legislative Committee
Vermont Occupational Therapy Association
Date: October 31, 2024
Dear VOTA Members,
As we close October and look toward the challenging months ahead, we are writing to you as both your Legislative Committee and as fellow practitioners navigating these uncertain times. This moment asks much of us—as occupational therapists, as community members, and as advocates for those we serve.
Today feels scary. Many individuals and families in our community are facing real fears about their futures. As October ends, we're witnessing the culmination of federal policy decisions that will continue to deeply affect our clients, their families, our neighbors, and us. The impacts are not abstract—they are landing in our treatment rooms, our schools, our community centers, and our homes.
Some of these decisions will be amplified as Vermont steps in to partially cover SNAP and LIHEAP benefits with state funds—a stopgap that reveals both our state's commitment and the precariousness of the safety net. We're seeing forced decisions about who can access medical care (stigmatizing and endangering many people in our community), systems of power exerting their lens over all others, continued human rights atrocities, and an ongoing climate of fear about safety and future. These forces pull us in many directions at once.
At times, we are paralyzed by the pull. The weight of what we're witnessing can feel immobilizing. But as occupational therapists, we understand something fundamental—that meaningful occupation, participation, and agency are not luxuries. They are human rights. They are the foundation of health, dignity, and community.
This is why we are asking everyone to join us in mobilizing to be voices for our clients, our neighbors, and ourselves. Advocacy is not separate from our practice; it is integral to it. When we fight for equitable access to services, when we show up at public meetings, when we speak truth about the barriers our clients face—we are practicing occupational therapy.
Here are upcoming opportunities to make your voice heard. These meetings shape the policies that directly impact our clients' access to services, educational supports, and healthcare:
School Redistricting Subcommittee Meetings: Task Force
Agency of Education Meetings: The Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont
Special Education Advisory Council
Green Mountain Care Board Sessions: Board Meeting Information & Materials | Green Mountain Care Board
Center on Budget and Policy: Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee | Vermont Department of Health
Blueprint for Health :Vermont Steering Committee for Comprehensive Primary Health Care
Please do not feel like you need to attend everything. Choose one meeting. Bring a colleague. Listen first, then speak when you are ready. Your clinical expertise matters in these spaces.
Vermont-Specific Resources: Agency of Education
Vermont food and heating assistance uncertainty with the Federal Government Shut down
National Advocacy Resources: Medicaid Cuts Would Reduce Access to Health Care for Entire Communities | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
FAQ about Occupational Therapy & the Government Shutdown | AOTA
Our profession was founded on the belief that occupation is a human right and a determinant of health. This moment is calling us to live those values and use our voices to advocate. Your voice—whether at a legislative hearing, a school board meeting, or in conversation - carries the weight of your clinical knowledge and your commitment to human dignity.
Thank you for the work you do every day. We can move forward together.
In solidarity and service,
The Legislative Committee
Vermont Occupational Therapy Association
For questions about advocacy opportunities or to connect with other members engaged in legislative work, please contact hannah.bloom@vermontot.org
Home Health
Thanks to advocacy from AOTA and other representatives of Occupational Therapy and Home Health; CMS has included the permanent provision beginning Jan 1, 2022 for Occupational Therapists performing initial assessments and comprehensive assessments in Medicare Home Health therapy cases. During the early months of the pandemic, Occupational Therapy was given this provision under the CMS COVID Waiver 1135, in order to facilitate access to needed Home Health services for seniors. This permanent move rightly recognizes Occupational Therapists as integral members of the home health team.
The HH PPS proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on July 7, 2021, and comments are due to CMS by August 27, 2021. AOTA staff is analyzing additional provisions of the proposed rule and will submit written comments. Read the CMS Fact Sheet for an overview of the proposed rule. FACTSHEET
Would you like to become more involved? Email us at: informationvota@gmail.com