DSS comes to Appropriations

Last week the Appropriations Committee met with state agencies on the Governor’s budget adjustments. Friday was DSS Commissioner Mike Starkowski’s turn. Beyond the “lovefest” over the agency’s performance in meeting pre-set goals, there were several tense exchanges. Legislators expressed concern that the dept. has chosen not to implement several programs the legislature negotiated into last…

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Geographic Variation in Health Care Spending

In a recent report, the Congressional Budget Office found that Medicare spending varies significantly by geographic region, even after controlling for differences in demographics, treatment preferences, and regional prices of medical services. The authors cite three possible reasons for the residual geographic variation in Medicare spending: (1) disagreement among medical professionals regarding the appropriateness of…

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Governor’s proposal to cut interpreters faces opposition

An article on ctnewsjunkie.com reports on Friday’s press conference by legislators opposing Governor Rell’s proposal to cut $4.7 million for medical interpreters in Medicaid. At last week’s Medicaid Managed Care Council, CT Voices for Children presented on the very high and growing rate of costly emergency room visits by Medicaid Managed Care/HUSKY patients. 38% of…

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Two studies question cost effectiveness of prevention and treatment

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine challenges the dogma that prevention always pays. This is especially important within the current presidential political environment with candidates promoting prevention as a way to stop skyrocketing health care costs. The authors note that many preventive measures do save money such as flu vaccines for…

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Free prescription drug samples less likely to go to poor or uninsured patients

$16.4 billion in free drug samples were distributed to US patients in 2004, up from $4.9 billion in 1996. Samples have been criticized for influencing physicians’ prescribing patterns among other concerns, but drug manufacturers have defended the practice by asserting that many of those drugs go to low-income and uninsured patients who might not otherwise…

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Vote for your favorite among three current proposals to cover CT’s uninsured

Three proposals have been made by the Governor and legislative leadership to cover CT’s uninsured. Currently, the Governor’s charter Oak plan is ahead in on-line voting. For more information on the options, click here . Go to our on-line poll to vote for your favorite or suggest your own idea http://www.cthealthpolicy.org/surveys/200712/.

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Over 40 million Americans missed needed health care services due to cost

18.6% of American adults did not receive needed medical care in 2005 because they could not afford it, according to a new report by the CDC. 25 million did not get needed dental care, over 18 million missed needed prescriptions and over 15 million did not get medical care they needed because of cost. 6%…

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Policymaker Issue BriefNo. 42 — Connecticut hospitals had access to over $128 million in free bed funds in 2006

Free bed funds at Connecticut hospitals were up $5.3 million in 2006 over the year before. Yale-New Haven and Hartford Hospitals control over two thirds of the total private free bed funds in the state to cover the costs of caring for needy uninsured and underinsured patients. On average, hospitals spent 11% of their fund…

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