January, 2014 - CT Health Policy

Medicaid Council update – very good news on PCMHs

By Ellen Andrews | January 10, 2014 |

At today’s Medicaid Council meeting we heard an impressive presentation by DSS and CHNCT, Medicaid’s administrative services organization, about the success of person-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in CT’s program. At the end of the year 211,206 Medicaid consumers were being cared for in a PCMH – about one in three CT Medicaid recipients. 65% of…

Navigators and assisters conference highlights challenges and solutions

By Ellen Andrews | January 9, 2014 |

Today’s AccessHealthCT conference for outreach workers focused on tools for engaging CT’s uninsured. In addition to public officials and foundation supporters, the conference included helpful wisdom from navigators in the field. Speakers shared real world challenges (technology, coordination, information gaps), but also solutions and best practices (flyers in energy assistance letters and food bank bags,…

Paid sick leave not a burden on CT businesses

By Ellen Andrews | January 8, 2014 |

Two years ago CT became the first state to require businesses with 50 or more employees to cover sick leave for workers. A new survey finds that, despite concerns, the policy has largely been a non-issue for CT businesses. The change in policy had little impact and little to no cost for companies but did…

National health spending remains low, enough to drop slightly as percent of GDP

By Ellen Andrews | January 7, 2014 |

In very good news, CMS actuaries have found that national spending on health care grew only 3.7% in 2012 – the fourth year of low growth and less than the rate of growth in the overall US economy at 4.6%. Per capita health spending grew by only 3%. The low rate caused the share of…

CT’s insurance exchange price tag — $156.3 million

By Ellen Andrews | January 6, 2014 |

An analysis by the CT Health I-Team finds that setting up our state insurance exchange, AccessHealthCT, is costing $156.3 million – that is $460 for each uninsured state resident. The equivalent of 88 full time workers are involved in the massive undertaking. Most of that money is paying for consultants but salaries consume $14 million…

New, improved Facebook page

By Ellen Andrews | January 3, 2014 |

(How I spent my winter vacation.) Check out the new, improved (actually finally filled-in) CT Health Policy Project Facebook page – www.facebook.com/cthealthnotes. Like us for updates on CT health trends, policies, proposals, what’s working and what’s not.

January CT Health Policy Webquiz – how will CT’s uninsured fare under the ACA?

By Ellen Andrews | January 2, 2014 |

Test your knowledge of how CT’s uninsured will fare under the ACA. Take the January CT Health Policy Webquiz.

CT Health reform dashboard – no movement from December

By Ellen Andrews | January 1, 2014 |

As the ACA’s individual mandate, exchange coverage and dozens of other provisions becomes effective this month, CT has only achieved 28.3% of necessary benchmarks for effective health care reform, according to this month’s CT Health Reform Dashboard. This is exactly where CT was last month. Uncertainty and a lack of protections in the SIM process…