Archive for May 2017
MD drug anti-gouging bill passes into law, CT Senate passes drug benefits fairness bill
On Friday, a Maryland billto control generic drug prices passed into law without the Governor’s signature. Maryland’s Attorney General Frosh championed this first-in-the-nation anti-gouging bill. The issue was raised in response to extreme price increases in older drugs such as EpiPen, naloxone, and Daraprim. The bill requires Maryland’s Medicaid program to notify the Attorney General…
Read MoreCBO estimates that AHCA would cause 23 million more uninsured in ten years
In more federal health news, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released their analysis of the impact of the House’s American Health Care Act yesterday. CBO predicts that 23 million more Americans would lose health coverage in the next decade, 14 million just next year, if the AHCA becomes law. The law would reduce the federal…
Read MorePresident’s budget proposal includes large cuts to state Medicaid funding, among other health programs
President Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposalincludes $610 billion in mandatory savings over the next decade by instituting state Medicaid block grants or per capita caps starting in FY 2020. This goes beyond cuts included in the American Health Care Act passed by the House of Representatives three weeks ago, that is estimated to cost Connecticut…
Read MoreAlert: CMS seeking public comment on new informed consent payment proposal
Some good news — th. Click here for more info, links to the proposed rule and the measure specifics, a customizable template for comments, and directions on how to submit comments. There is an exciting new opportunity to support patient-centered care and make a meaningful impact on the quality of care in hospitals across the…
Read MoreHealth care has highest job opening rate in US
At 5.2% in March, the health care and social assistance sector had the highest rate of job openings in the US labor market, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However the rate of hiring in health care and social assistance was only average. At 19.3 million the health care and social assistance sector had…
Read More2016 estimate finds CT uninsured rates going down
Early estimates of health coverage finds that 3.9% of CT residents were uninsured last year, well below the US average of 9%, according to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey. CT’s uninsured rate fell by 7.2% between 2013 and 2016, very close to the national 8.0% drop. Last year 41.6% of state residents had public…
Read MoreNew state health comparison tool shows challenges and opportunities for CT
In good news, CT is 11th best among states in the number of people who had no trouble finding a doctor in 2015 according to State Health Compare. But CT is also 17th worst among states in the percent of residents with high medical cost burdens. Depending on how you look at it, it may…
Read MoreHealth Care Cabinet tackles drug costs
At yesterday’s meeting, CT’s Health Care Cabinet agreed to create four working groups to develop recommendations and options to control drug spending in the state. We also reviewed a report from CT’s APCD on the Top 50 Highest Total Cost Drugs in CT. The Cabinet has been taking a deep dive into rising prescription drug…
Read MoreCT rates well among states in public health emergency preparation, but room for improvement
This year CT earned 7.3 points out of 10 possible in the latest assessment of preparedness for community health emergencies, a small increase from 7.2 over last year. But CT did better than the US average at 6.8. The National Health Security Preparedness Index has measured states’ ability to respond to health security threats such…
Read MoreMay CT Health Reform Dashboard – Medicaid U turn, federal relief premature
CT’s May Health Reform Dashboard is unsettled again. Mistrust remains at the core of problems in CT. Medicaid policy development and implementation have taken a very disappointing turn away from collaboration, transparency, and data for reasons that don’t make any sense (there are a few theories). Just a few of the persistent problems in PCMH+,…
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