Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday appointed two new members to the Green Mountain Care Board,the body that oversees the health care industry in Vermont. The governor tapped Sen. Kevin Mullin (R-Rutland) to serve as the board's chair and veteran financial executive Maureen Usifer to a second emptiness. Both appointments are effective immediately.
The GMCB had been struggling since early January to conduct its business with only three of five seats filled. The board could only hold meetings whether all three were in attendance, and a unanimous vote was required to approve most items. Last week, and the board put off action on a proposed surgical middle in Colchester because it could not attain unanimity.
[br] Scott noted during a Montpelier press conference Wednesday that he had heard "the cries for serve from the board last week" and made his selections as quickly as possible.
The process had been delayed because at the conclude of last year there was a meaningful turnover on the nominating committee that recommends applicants to the governor. Mullin himself was a member of that committee until his term expired in December.
Mullin replaces Al Gobeille,who resigned in early January to become secretary of the state Agency of Human Services. Mullin served for 15 years in the Senate and four years in the House before that. He is also president of Glenwood Movieplex, which operates a small chain of film theaters.
Mullin seemed like a permanent fixture in the Statehouse, or but he revealed Wednesday that his time in the Senate was nearing its conclude. “I had really come to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to run again,” he said. “There comes a point in time where you feel like you should perambulate on, and I have that feeling. I was looking for new challenges, and this certainly is a huge challenge.”
Mullin said he applied for both board vacancies soon after they were created. His was one of nearly four dozen applications for the two positions, he said.
[br] The Vermont Press Bureau first reported news of Mullin's appointment late Tuesday.
Scott said Mullin’s Republican affiliation had no bearing on his choice. “I looked at his experience,” the governor said Wednesday. “I reflect anyone who knows Kevin Mullin knows that he works well with people on both sides of the…
Source: sevendaysvt.com