Office of Health Care Advocate saved CT consumers over a million dollars this quarter

CT’s Office of Health Care Advocate (OHA) returned $1.36 million in savings to health care consumers in our state between July and September of this year. OHA assists consumers struggling with insurance companies to access the care they need. So far this year, OHA has saved consumers $3.3 million in health costs. The savings include…

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SustiNet Board considers governance and structure recommendations

At today’s meeting the SustiNet Board considered three different structural options for the new SustiNet Plan. Options varied in whether the new SustiNet governing body will oversee or directly administer the plan, whether the SustiNet option will be a licensed state insurance product offered in the new state health insurance exchange, the relative roles of…

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HUSKY HMOs made $19 million profits last year; families paid $323.16 to HMO profits

At the very end of yesterday’s Medicaid Care Management Oversight Council meeting, DSS reported that the HUSKY HMOs made $18.8 million in profits on the program during 2009. This profit is on top of their administrative costs. Aetna made most of that profit — $14 million – despite having only one fourth of total enrollment.…

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More state health policy in New Orleans

Yesterday, I finished up at the NASHP conference hearing the latest from VT’s Blueprint for Health and a panel on how FQHCs are stepping up to provide coordinated care and patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). VT is planning to expand their Blueprint PCMH program to the entire state in three years. Primary care practices certified as…

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More health policy from New Orleans

A long day at the NASHP conference today. We heard about challenges facing states; the common theme was planning deep reforms on very short timelines with limited staff capacity and growing budget deficits. William Hazel, recently hired Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Services, pulled together the heads of departments to look for savings. When…

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New Orleans health care – five years after Katrina

Yesterday, the NASHP conference in New Orleans started with a plenary session on the state of health care in the city. Things were not great before Katrina – the city was at the bottom of national list for health care access and outcomes. 80% of the housing stock was lost; health care institutions were devastated.…

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CT uninsured rates vary significantly by geography, income, race/ethnicity and citizenship

New numbers from the Census find that last year minorities in CT were more likely to be uninsured, but not being a citizen raised your risk by more than four fold. CT residents with household incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 were most likely to be without coverage. Fairfield County led the state with 11% uninsured;…

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CT gets federal grant for health care workforce planning

The CT Employment & Training Commission and the CT Office for Workforce Competitiveness were successful in their application to HHS for $150,000 to support the CT Workforce Investment Strategies in Health Care (WISH) Planning Grant. The funds will be used to produce a statewide health care workforce plan, coordinate disparate planning efforts, strengthen regional workforce…

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