Over the last two weeks, I have spent a lot of time in the State House talking about
S.23
, the minimum wage bill. At every opportunity, I have asked legislators to protect vulnerable Vermonters by ensuring that if they pass the bill, they also fund the Medicaid programs that will be impacted by the bill.
At the greatest risk is Vermont’s long-term care system – home health agencies, adult day facilities and nursing homes and others – who serve frail, elderly Vermonters who can no longer care for themselves without help.
In recent testimony, a coalition of providers put forward a proposal to obligate legislators to fund the approximately 7 percent annual minimum wage growth rates called for in the bill.
