VT H0719

Rural hospitals, community hospitals, and health systems may collaborate on cost containment, access to care, quality improvement, and hospital preservation efforts while receiving immunity from federal and state antitrust laws

Secretary of Human Services must authorize collaboration discussions within 30 days and approve specific initiatives within 60 days before implementation can proceed

Collaborating parties must submit quarterly reports to the Agency of Human Services, and the Secretary may require third-party aggregators or facilitators at the parties' expense as a condition of approval

Hospitals and health systems may share cost, utilization, workforce, and quality data during approved collaborations without violating antitrust laws

Materials submitted for collaboration approval are exempt from public records requests and presumed confidential, though the Agency may disclose general approval information while protecting proprietary data