Vermont

The grounds, as Vermont describes them

Rule 3.14 b. of the Licensing and Operating Rules for Nursing Homes (Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, PDF, revision date June 1, 2018, retrieved 2026-09-26) states: "The facility must permit each resident to remain in the room or in the facility, and not transfer or discharge the resident from the facility, unless:", in the rule's own order:

"the transfer or discharge is necessary for the resident’s welfare and the resident’s needs cannot be met in the facility;"

"the transfer or discharge is appropriate because the resident’s health has improved sufficiently so the resident no longer needs the services provided by the facility;"

"the health or safety of individuals in the facility is endangered;"

"the resident has failed, after reasonable and appropriate notice, to pay for (or to have paid under Medicare or Medicaid) a stay at the facility. For a resident who becomes eligible for Medicaid after admission to a nursing facility, the nursing facility may charge a resident allowable charges under Medicaid;"

"the facility ceases to operate; or"

"the transfer or discharge is ordered by a court."

The statute states the list differently. 33 V.S.A. § 7301(2)(D) (Vermont Statutes Online, Vermont General Assembly, current through the amendment effective July 1, 2022, retrieved 2026-09-26) states that each resident "Is transferred or discharged only for medical reasons, or for the resident’s welfare or that of other residents, or for nonpayment of the resident’s stay (except as prohibited by Title XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act)" — three bases in the statute's own words against six in the rule. Both are current and both are quoted as published; this page does not reconcile them.

The published process

Requesting the hearing

Rule 3.14 i. states two stages. First: "To appeal the decision to transfer or discharge, the resident must notify the administrator of the facility or the director of the licensing agency. Upon receipt of an appeal, the administrator must immediately notify the director of the licensing agency." "The request to appeal the decision may be oral or written and must be made within 10 business days of the receipt of the notice by the resident." "The director of the licensing agency will render a decision within eight business days of receipt of the notice of appeal." The Division of Licensing and Protection's own sample notice (DLP, PDF, posted April 23, 2019 per the page that carries it, retrieved 2026-09-26) names that recipient: "State Survey Agency Director, Suzanne Leavitt" "Division of Licensing & Protection" "HC 2 South 280 State Drive" "Waterbury, VT 05671-2060" "Telephone: (802) 241-0480" "Email: surveyandcertification@vermont.gov" and states "The State does not use a formal appeal form or require a formal appeal hearing request." The sample notice also states the pendency right in the resident's own terms: "You have the right to remain in the home and in your room until there is a final decision on your appeal." The rule states the equivalent for the first stage's own decision at 3.14 i.5.-6.: the director's notice of decision "will state that the decision may be appealed to the Human Services Board, and will include information on how to do so", and "The resident or the facility will have 10 business days to file a request for an appeal with the Human Services Board by writing to the Board. The Human Services Board will conduct a de novo evidentiary hearing in accordance with 3 V.S.A. §3091." The Board's own page (Agency of Human Services, retrieved 2026-09-26) states the second stage's filing route: "To Request a Fair Hearing:" a "Fair Hearing Request Form" (offered as a Word document, a PDF, or an "Online Fair Hearing Request Form"), to "Fill it out, and mail or email it to us at:" "Human Services Board" "6 Baldwin Street, Suite 305" "Montpelier, VT 05633-4302" "Email: contact.hsb@vermont.gov." The Board's page separately states: "Please call the Board at (802) 828-2536 if you have difficulty submitting a written complaint or if you have questions."

The notice's required contents

Rule 3.14 e.: "The written notice specified in this subsection shall be on a form provided by the licensing agency or one that is substantially similar and must include the following:" "the reason for transfer or discharge;" "the effective date of transfer or discharge;" "the location to which the resident is being transferred or discharged;" "a statement in large print or large point type that the resident has the right to appeal the facility’s decision to transfer or discharge to the State, with the appropriate information regarding how to do so as set forth in 3.14 h. below;" "the name, address and telephone number of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman;" "a statement that the resident may remain in place pending the appeal;" "for nursing home residents with developmental disabilities, the mailing address and telephone number of the Developmental Disability Law Project and that of the Department’s Developmental Disabilities Services Division; and/or" "for nursing facility residents with mental illness, the mailing address and telephone number of Disability Rights Vermont." The statute's own notice sentence, § 7301(2)(D): "Residents shall be notified in writing of the proposed transfer or discharge and reasons for it at least 72 hours before a transfer within the facility and 30 days before a discharge from the facility." and "Notice shall explain the resident’s right to appeal the proposed action under the facility’s grievance procedure and shall include the address and phone number of the area ombudsman."

Bed-hold and return

Rule 3.12 b.: "Upon payment of his or her usual rate or, in the case of Medicaid residents, his or her certified per diem compensation, each resident has the right to retain his or her bed in the nursing home while absent from the facility due to hospitalization or therapeutic leave, provided such absence does not exceed ten successive days." Before that leave or transfer, "a nursing facility must provide written information to the resident and a family member or legal representative that specifies:" "The duration of the bed-hold policy during which the resident is permitted to return and resume residence in the nursing facility; and" "The nursing facility’s policies regarding bed-hold periods permitting a resident to return." § 7301(2)(S) states the same right in the statute's own words: a resident "Has the right upon payment of the resident’s usual rate or, in the case of Medicaid residents, the resident’s certified per diem compensation, to retain the resident’s bed in the nursing home while absent from the facility due to hospitalization, provided such absence does not exceed 10 successive days." On return, rule 3.12 a. and § 7301(2)(R) state the right after hospitalization in matching terms: "each resident has the right to return to the first available bed in the nursing home he or she came from" if the bed was not retained under 3.12 b., "provided the facility is able to meet the resident's medical needs and the resident's welfare or that of other residents will not be adversely affected." Rule 3.12 c. adds a readmission duty once the bed-hold period has passed: "A nursing facility must establish and follow a written policy under which a resident whose hospitalization or therapeutic leave exceeds the bed-hold period is readmitted to the facility immediately upon the first availability of a bed in a semi-private room if the resident requires the services provided by the facility." A separate statute states a facility's own power to petition against readmission: 33 V.S.A. § 7305: "a facility may petition the Commissioner of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living to deny readmission to the facility of any former resident returning from a period of hospitalization", and such a petition "shall be granted if in the judgment of the Commissioner, upon consultation with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, the resident has exhibited a nonremedial pattern of violent behavior that poses a danger to others." No current first-party statement of a Medicaid payment rate or manual section for the held bed itself was found in the sources reviewed beyond the rule's and the statute's own "his or her usual rate or, in the case of Medicaid residents, his or her certified per diem compensation" language quoted above (searched: the Department of Vermont Health Access's current General Provider Manual, General Billing and Forms Manual, and Nursing Facility Provider Manual, none of which currently carries a hold-bed section, per finding 5 of the 2026-09-04 entry below); not stated in the sources reviewed beyond what the licensing rule and statute themselves state.

The three rows above hoist the questions a facility's counsel answers in the first fifteen minutes. They are quotations from Vermont's published sources, not a determination that any of them applies to any situation.

Notice periods and deadlines, as stated in the sources

All quoted; none calculated.

72 hours' notice for a transfer within the facility — rule 3.14 d.1. and § 7301(2)(D): notice "shall be given at least 72 hours before a transfer within the facility".

30 days' notice for a discharge — the same two sources: notice must be given "30 days before the discharge from the facility" (rule 3.14 d.1.); "30 days before a discharge from the facility" (statute § 7301(2)(D)).

Less than 30 days in an emergency — rule 3.14 l.: "An emergency discharge or transfer may be made with less than thirty (30) days’ notice" where the resident's physician documents an emergency measure necessary for health or safety, a natural disaster requires evacuation, the resident presents an immediate threat, or a court so orders. The statute states the equivalent exception in its own words: where health or safety would be endangered, or urgent medical needs require it, "notice shall be made as soon as practicable before transfer or discharge."

10 business days to request the first-stage appeal — rule 3.14 i.2.: the request to appeal "must be made within 10 business days of the receipt of the notice by the resident." The sample notice states the same period to the resident directly: "You have the right to appeal the home’s decision to [discharge/transfer] you within ten (10) business days of receipt of this notice."

8 business days for the first-stage decision — rule 3.14 i.4.: "The director of the licensing agency will render a decision within eight business days of receipt of the notice of appeal." The sample notice states it as "will be made in eight (8) business days".

10 business days to request the second-stage appeal — rule 3.14 i.6.: "The resident or the facility will have 10 business days to file a request for an appeal with the Human Services Board by writing to the Board."

10 successive days' bed-hold — rule 3.12 b. and § 7301(2)(S), quoted in full above: the right to retain the bed "provided such absence does not exceed ten successive days" (rule); "provided such absence does not exceed 10 successive days" (statute).

What any of these periods means for a particular case is for the hearing office or relevant state process to determine.

Source map

Captured: all seven, in tools/packets/vermont-packet.txt. Pending: the Human Services Board's own Fair Hearing Rules document and its downloadable Fair Hearing Request Form (Word/PDF), both linked from the Board's page (source 5) but not themselves captured — the page's own text states that the route and the rules exist, quoted in section 02; any current Department of Vermont Health Access statement of Medicaid payment for held beds (see finding 5 of the 2026-09-04 entry below); the Division's complaint and survey pages beyond the sample-notice page.

Change log

2026-09-26 — Deepened to a full page from the existing baseline evidence. No new source was added: all seven standing sources already carried the grounds, notice, hearing-route and bed-hold text sections 01 and 02 draw on. Transport: every source recaptured through the standing recipe (tools/recipes/vermont.json, digest 97fee5696430) by plain curl with a browser user-agent; each reproduces its 2026-09-04 text unchanged in every quoted span — the only differences are incidental site-navigation chrome (a handful of removed or added menu links on legislature.vermont.gov and dlp.vermont.gov) outside anything this page quotes. Findings, continuing the numbering of the 2026-09-04 entry: (7) 33 V.S.A. § 7305 states a facility's own petition right to deny readmission after hospitalization, granted only on the Commissioner's finding, after consulting the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, of "a nonremedial pattern of violent behavior that poses a danger to others" — a check on the resident's own return right stated nowhere in the licensing rule's parallel bed-hold and return provisions (3.12), and not previously quoted on this page. (8) The Human Services Board's own page states its filing route directly — a downloadable Fair Hearing Request Form (Word or PDF) or an online form, mailed or emailed to the Board's Montpelier address — resolving what the 2026-09-04 entry had left as a capture gap; the Board's own linked Fair Hearing Rules document and the request-form files themselves remain capture-pending, per the source map. Capture-pending: per the source map. Internet Archive: not yet submitted. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-09-27. Corrections: hello@fieldassembly.net.

2026-09-04 — Baseline page built from the first Vermont packet: docket, lede, source map, change log. Not yet captured or written: section 01 (the grounds, as Vermont describes them) and section 02 (the published process, including the notice's required contents in full, bed-hold and return, and the notice-periods register). Transports: every source was fetched by curl with a browser user-agent through the state's capture recipe (tools/recipes/vermont.json); the two PDFs were read with pdftotext in layout mode, the five pages by tag-stripping the body. No browser or session-fetch transport was needed. Findings: (1) The rule and the statute state the grounds differently within current Vermont law. Rule 3.14 b. lists six circumstances; 33 V.S.A. § 7301(2)(D) states three — medical reasons, the resident's welfare or that of other residents, and nonpayment. Both are quoted as published and neither is reconciled here. (2) The statute and the rule route the appeal differently. § 7301(2)(D) says the notice "shall explain the resident’s right to appeal the proposed action under the facility’s grievance procedure"; rule 3.14 i. sends the appeal to the facility's administrator or to the director of the licensing agency, with a second stage before the Human Services Board. Both are quoted; the Division's sample notice follows the rule. (3) The Division's two published telephone numbers differ by page: its contact block prints (802) 241-0344; its sample notice prints (802) 241-0480 for the appeal and the rule's own cover prints the same 241-0480. Shown as published. (4) The department's ombudsman page and the program's own page do not print the same contact: the department prints a bare number and its own division's address; Vermont Legal Aid prints the number with an extension and no address. Both are shown. (5) On bed-hold, the licensing rule itself states a period — rule 3.12 b. gives a right to retain the bed "while absent from the facility due to hospitalization or therapeutic leave, provided such absence does not exceed ten successive days" — so this is not an absence. What was searched for and not found is a current Medicaid-payment statement: the Department of Vermont Health Access's current General Provider Manual, General Billing and Forms Manual and Nursing Facility Provider Manual, all reached through the department's manuals index at vtmedicaid.com on 2026-09-04, carry no hold-bed section; an older Vermont Medicaid Provider Manual dated 2/1/2019, still served at the same host but no longer listed in that index, carries one. It was not captured, because it is not the newest the department publishes, and nothing here relies on it. (6) The sample notice's first line disclaims it as "only a guide/helpful tool"; it is quoted for the contact it prints and for its own statement that the State uses no formal appeal form, not as a statement of the rule. Capture pending: per the source map. Internet Archive: not yet submitted. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-09-04. Corrections: hello@fieldassembly.net.