Archive for January 2012
Medicare changes policies in response to comparative effectiveness research
The Medicare administrator for most of New England has changed policy to approve coverage of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for people suffering with treatment-resistant depression. The new policy, effective in March, reverses a November 2011 policy of non-coverage and is the first in the nation Medicare TMS coverage policy. It is estimated that 14 million…
Read MoreWebinar: engaging patients to lower costs and improve care
As states implement health delivery reform, many are intrigued by the promise of shared decision making. Not only is shared decision making central to patient engagement but it is also a paradigm shift in informed consent. Washington, Vermont and Maine have taken the direct step of promoting shared decision making through legislation and pilots. Several…
Read MorePercent uninsured Americans up but under age 26 going down, Bronx hospital allows artists to trade art for health care
A new Gallup poll finds that 17.1% of Americans were uninsured last year, up every year since 2008 when it was 14.8%. The rates in December and July of last year were tied for the highest ever recorded by Gallup at 17.7%. The bright spot was a decline of 2.7% in the uninsured rate among…
Read MoreAdvocates protest at last week’s Exchange Board meeting
Last Thursday’s Board meeting was attended by dozens of consumer advocates protesting insurance domination of the Board’s membership and the absence of consumer voices. The advocates wore Band Aids over their mouths and stood with signs protesting the lack of even one voting consumer member; federal regulations say the majority of voting members should represent…
Read MoreFirst HIT privacy committee meeting
The HITE-CT privacy committee held its first meeting last week. While mainly organizational, the consensus of the group was that developing a patient consent model – opt-in vs. opt-out – was foundational to our work. Most other policies flow from that decision. Efforts to limit discussion to just tracking federal privacy issues were considered but…
Read MoreMedicaid Council meeting
The news from Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting was that there was no news. Unlike previous HUSKY transitions, the shift from three capitated HMOs to only one entity, Community Health Network (CHN), running the program was uneventful. There had been concerns that many providers previously participating in the HMO networks were not enrolled in regular Medicaid,…
Read MoreDual eligible care and payment model development committee update
Last week the Medicaid Council sub, sub-committee developing a payment and delivery model for a new Medicaid program serving dual eligible met. The committee is considering shared savings payment options in which savings from coordinating care, reducing duplication and emphasizing quality would be captured and shared with providers. The project grew from a CMS planning…
Read MoreHealth Reform Cabinet meeting
The highlight of last week’s Health Reform Cabinet was a report by Frances Padilla of the Universal Health Care Foundation of CT, Co-Chair of the Business Plan Development Committee, outlining efforts to develop option(s) to offer quality, affordable health benefits to individuals and small businesses, possibly including a public option. The Committee is also Co-Chaired…
Read MoreHealth Care Workforce forum
It is estimated that CT will need 9,000 more direct health care workers in the next five years. The CT Commission on Aging is sponsoring “The Direct Care Workforce: Meeting the Demand and Responding to the Needs of CT Residents” Friday Jan. 27th from 10 am to noon in Room 1D of the LOB. The…
Read MoreLegal aid suing over Medicaid delays
Yesterday New Haven Legal Assistance Association filed a federal class action lawsuit against DSS over extreme delays in processing Medicaid applications. The application for one plaintiff, a 27-year old man with a seizure disorder, has been in process for almost six months. He has provided all the information requested and was told by the Department…
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