# Vermont H.35: An act relating to unmerging the individual and small group health insurance markets Vermont H.35, An act relating to unmerging the individual and small group health insurance markets, is a 2025-2026 Session House bill sponsored by Lori Houghton (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-02-21 (House message: Governor approved bill on February 19, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H35-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Vermont H.35 - State: Vermont - Session: 2025-2026 Session - Title: An act relating to unmerging the individual and small group health insurance markets - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-15 - Last action: 2025-02-21, House message: Governor approved bill on February 19, 2025 - Sponsor: Lori Houghton (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Guaranteed acceptance for individuals and small groups: benefit, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, registered carriers must accept all applicants in the individual and small-group markets. This includes individuals, small employers, their employees, and dependents. Carriers must accept you even if you owe premiums from the prior plan year. - Small-group cutoff raised to 100 workers: benefit, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, employers with an average of 100 or fewer employees qualify as small employers for Exchange coverage. Use the IRS counting method in 26 U.S.C. § 4980H(c)(2). Employers that grow past 100 can keep participating if they continue to offer qualified plans. - More ways to enroll and get help: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, you can enroll through the Exchange, by phone, with a navigator, or directly from a registered carrier that offers direct enrollment, if federal rules allow it. Carriers that enroll directly must follow open and special enrollment periods. The Exchange sets procedures so… - Separate pricing for individual and small-group plans: mixed, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, carriers must use a community-rating method approved by the Commissioner. They must set individual-market premiums separately from small-group premiums. This can raise or lower costs for different groups. - Only registered carriers can sell plans: mixed, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, no one may sell a health plan to individuals or small employers unless they are a registered carrier. The Commissioner sets financial, marketing, service, and other standards for registration. A filing is effective unless disapproved within 30 days. A carrier may withdraw… - Stronger reporting on subsidies and coverage changes: mixed, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, the Exchange sends Treasury the names and taxpayer IDs of employees found eligible for the premium tax credit, including when employer coverage is missing or unaffordable. The Exchange also sends Treasury names and IDs when someone reports changing employers or stops cove… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Lori Houghton (Democratic), House ## Actions (21) - 2025-02-21: House message: Governor approved bill on February 19, 2025 (House) - 2025-02-20: Signed by Governor on 2/19/2025 (House) - 2025-02-14: Delivered to Governor on February 14, 2025 (House) - 2025-02-14: Senate Message: Passed in concurrence (Senate) - 2025-02-12: Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence (Senate) - 2025-02-12: New Business/Third Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Reported favorably by Senator Cummings for Committee on Finance, read 2nd time and 3rd reading ordered (Senate) - 2025-02-11: Favorable report by Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-02-11: New Business/Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-07: Favorable report by Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-02-07: Second Reading (Senate) - 2025-02-07: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate) - 2025-02-04: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Finance (Senate) - 2025-01-30: Read third time and passed (House) - 2025-01-30: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House) - 2025-01-29: Third Reading ordered (House) - 2025-01-29: Rep. Demar of Enosburgh reported for the Committee on Health Care (House) - 2025-01-29: Read second time (House) - 2025-01-29: Action Calendar: Favorable (House) - 2025-01-28: On Notice Calendar (House) - 2025-01-15: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Health Care (House) ## Bill text - As Enacted (ACT 2)Opens in a new window, 2025-02-21: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT002/ACT002%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-02-14: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-02-14: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - As Passed by the House, 2025-01-31: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As passed by the House Official.pdf) - As Passed by the House (Unofficial), 2025-01-31: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf) - As Introduced, 2025-01-15: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related bills - S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities (signed) - S.327: An act relating to economic development (signed) - S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system (signed) - S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects (signed) - S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles (signed) - S.298: An act relating to voter protections (signed) ## Sources - [As Enacted (ACT 2)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT002/ACT002%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [As Passed by the House (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As passed by the House Official.pdf) - [As Passed by the House (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0035/H-0035 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related - [S.328: An act relating to housing and common interest communities](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S328-2026) - [S.327: An act relating to economic development](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S327-2026) - [S.313: An act relating to transforming Vermont’s career technical education system](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S313-2026) - [S.323: An act relating to miscellaneous agricultural subjects](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S323-2026) - [S.326: An act relating to miscellaneous amendments to laws relating to motor vehicles](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S326-2026) - [S.298: An act relating to voter protections](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S298-2026) - [Vermont bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont/bills) - [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H35-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).