# Vermont H.80: An act relating to the Office of the Health Care Advocate

Vermont H.80, An act relating to the Office of the Health Care Advocate, is a 2025-2026 Session House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2025-04-24 (House message: Governor approved bill on April 23, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H80-2026
- 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.80
- State: Vermont
- Session: 2025-2026 Session
- Title: An act relating to the Office of the Health Care Advocate
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-24
- Last action: 2025-04-24, House message: Governor approved bill on April 23, 2025
- Sponsors: no sponsor on record
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- More health care help for Vermonters: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Health Care Advocate helps Vermonters choose insurance and find ways to obtain and pay for coverage and care. The Office handles questions, complaints, and appeals, including referrals from Vermont’s health insurance exchange. It explains health coverage rights and dutie…
- More consumer input on insurance rates: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Health Care Advocate can submit questions about insurers’ rate requests to the Green Mountain Care Board. Questions must arrive within 30 calendar days after the Board receives the request and substantially relate to the filing and review standards. The Board must ask th…
- Patient advocates gain health project input: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Health Care Advocate can join certificate-of-need reviews of health care projects by filing a notice. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office has the same rights in nursing home cases. Each participating office can receive review materials and send written questions for th…
- Stronger independent health advocacy for Vermonters: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the law establishes an independent Health Care Advocate Office funded through a nonprofit contract with Vermont’s Agency of Human Services. One or more directors, including a Chief Health Care Advocate, run the Office and can hire staff and contractors. The Office monitors h…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- (none)

## Actions (29)

- 2025-04-24: House message: Governor approved bill on April 23, 2025 (House)
- 2025-04-23: Signed by Governor on April 23, 2025 (House)
- 2025-04-17: Delivered to Governor on April 17, 2025 (House)
- 2025-04-16: House message: House concurred in Senate proposal of amendment (House)
- 2025-04-15: Senate proposal of amendment concurred in (House)
- 2025-04-15: Action Calendar: Senate Proposal of Amendment (House)
- 2025-04-11: Notice Calendar: Senate Proposal of Amendment (House)
- 2025-04-10: Senate Message: Passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment (Senate)
- 2025-04-09: Read 3rd time & passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment (Senate)
- 2025-04-09: New Business/Third Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: 3rd reading ordered (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Proposal of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare agreed to (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Read 2nd time, reported favorably with proposal of amendment by Senator Gulick for Committee on Health and Welfare (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Favorable report with proposal of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: New Business/Second Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: Favorable report with proposal of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: Second Reading (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: Entered on Notice Calendar (Senate)
- 2025-03-25: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Health and Welfare (Senate)
- 2025-03-20: Read third time and passed (House)
- 2025-03-20: Action Calendar: Third Reading (House)
- 2025-03-19: Third Reading ordered (House)
- 2025-03-19: Report of Committee on Health Care, as amended, agreed to (House)
- 2025-03-19: Rep. Black of Essex, Berbeco of Winooski, Cina of Burlington, Cordes of Bristol, Critchlow of Colchester, Demar of Enosburgh, Goldman of Rockingham, Houghton of Essex Junction, McFaun of Barre Town, Page of Newport City, and Powers of Waterford moved to amend the report of the Committee on Health Care, which was agreed to (House)
- 2025-03-19: Rep. Critchlow of Colchester reported for the Committee on Health Care (House)
- 2025-03-19: Read second time (House)
- 2025-03-19: Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House)
- 2025-03-18: Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment (House)
- 2025-01-24: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Health Care (House)

## Bill text

- As Enacted (ACT 6)Opens in a new window, 2025-04-30: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT006/ACT006%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-04-16: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf)
- As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-04-16: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- Senate Proposal of Amendment, 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 Senate proposal of amendment Official.pdf)
- Senate Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial), 2025-04-15: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 Senate Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf)
- As Passed by the House, 2025-03-26: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- As Passed by the House (Unofficial), 2025-03-26: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- As Introduced, 2025-01-24: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 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 6)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT006/ACT006%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
- [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 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-0080/H-0080 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf)
- [Senate Proposal of Amendment (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 Senate proposal of amendment Official.pdf)
- [Senate Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 Senate Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As passed by the House Official.pdf)
- [As Passed by the House (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 As Passed by the House Unofficial.pdf)
- [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/H-0080/H-0080 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-H80-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).