MONTPELIER — Gov. Peter Shumlin appointed Jessica Holmes, a Middlebury College professor of Economics, including Health Economics, to serve on the five-member Green Mountain Care Board. She will serve a six-year term, replacing outgoing member Karen Hein of Jacksonville, Vt., whose term expired.
“Jessica has extensive academic and professional experience in health care economics,” said Gov. Shumlin. “She comes to the board with an in-depth knowledge of how the health care system is funded currently, and the ability to analyze options for controlling costs now and into the future.”
“I have been impressed by the work of the board to date, and I am honored to serve the people of Vermont in this capacity,” Holmes said. “Vermont is uniquely positioned to be a leader in health care reform. We are a small, healthy state with collaborative stakeholders, high quality providers, and a governor and Legislature who put health care reform at the top of the priority list. Our efforts here can serve as a model for the rest of the country and I am excited to be a part of that process.
“I hope to bring an economist’s lens and analytical toolkit to the board,” she added. “Using data to better understand how and where our resources are spent can help us improve efficiency, and therefore increase health care access and quality.”
“We are excited that Jessica Holmes is joining the Green Mountain Care Board,” said Al Gobeille, chair of the Green Mountain Care Board. “Jessica’s skills and expertise will be crucial as we gauge the effects of reform both on the health care system and on Vermont’s economy.”
The five-member Green Mountain Care Board’s mission is to reduce the rate of growth in health care costs, regulate hospital spending and capital expenditures, and curb the growth in health insurance rates. In addition to Gobeille, a Burlington businessman, other members are Colchester physician Allan Ramsay, former University of Vermont professor of Nursing and Health Policy Betty Rambur, and past Human Services Secretary Con Hogan of Plainfield.
Holmes, a Cornwall resident, graduated from Colgate University and went on to receive her PhD in Economics — with expertise in Health Economics, Labor Economics, Public Finance and Microeconomics — from Yale University.
She is a professor of Economics at Middlebury College and Director of MiddCORE, Middlebury’s leadership and innovation program. Holmes also serves on the Porter Medical Center Board.