Posts by Ellen Andrews
Congressional move to rein in innovations that harm people, Connecticut advocates’ SIM concerns addressed in DC
A new bill in Congress, proposed by both Democrats and Republicans, would place controls on federal grants for payment and delivery reform projects. The Strengthening Innovation in Medicare and Medicaid Act was introduced last week to “increase transparency and accountability within the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)”. CMMI is the federal agency…
Read MoreIs CT healthy or not? Different rankings with different messages
Health rankings are all about definitions and what you measure — an important lesson with broad implications. A new health ranking of US cities by Wallet Hub is not great news for Connecticut. Of America’s 174 most populous cities, Bridgeport is #88 and New Haven is #98. Five cities in surrounding states are healthier than…
Read MoreCT hospital quality still lacking
New Medicare hospital quality ratings find little change from last year’s report. Almost half of Connecticut hospitals received three stars out of five, about the same as last year. Quality ratings didn’t change for half of Connecticut hospitals. This confirms a long history of underperformance by Connecticut hospitals. We did have one five-star hospital (Sharon)…
Read MoreUS overdose deaths down but no change for Connecticut
Americans’ life expectancy increased in 2018 for the first time since 2014. From 2014 through 2017, life expectancy fell 0.3 years, twice as much for American men as women. The drop was largely attributed to the sharp rise in overdose deaths during those years. Nationally, overdose deaths fell from 21.7 to 20.7 per 100,000 population…
Read MoreCTNJ – Op-Ed: The Individual Mandate Was Never Necessary, But Connecticut Knew That
Arguably the most contentious part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the individual mandate, requiring every American to secure healthcare coverage, appears to have made little difference since Congress removed the penalty last year. Connecticut considered passing a state-level individual mandate both before the ACA and more recently as the ACA has been in peril.…
Read MoreEvidence that children with private or Medicaid coverage both at risk of low-value care
A new study finds that both Medicaid and privately insured children frequently receive healthcare services that do not improve health. There has been an assumption that because providers are paid less by Medicaid, they have no incentive to provide unnecessary services. The study, published in Pediatrics, analyzed records from almost 7 million American children in…
Read MoreCT is the second most expensive state for smokers
Smoking costs Connecticut smokers $2,447, 965 over a lifetime, behind only New York smokers, according to a new analysis by Wallet Hub. Not only is smoking the leading preventable cause of death, killing 480,000 Americans each year, accounting for one in five deaths, but it is also a substantial economic burden on smokers and their…
Read MoreNew report explains CT health disparities
Babies of black mothers in Connecticut are over four times more likely to die in their first year than babies born to white mothers, according to a new report from the CT Health Foundation. Black state residents die at 1.2 times the rate of whites. Overall Connecticut residents are among the healthiest in the nation,…
Read MorePCMH (no Plus) program continues to grow and improve care
At MAPOC’s Care Management Committee meeting Wednesday, the state provided the latest numbers from the successful Person-Centered Medical Home program. PCMHs are primary care practices that coordinate care for patients, offer expanded hours, and address population health needs. The program continues to grow, adding 52 primary care providers and seven new sites of care in…
Read MoreHelp us improve consumer advocacy in Connecticut
With support from the CT Health Foundation, the CT Health Policy Project is updating our online Health Advocacy Toolbox. The Toolbox was created twenty years ago to give individual consumers and community organizations in Connecticut tools to effectively engage in health policy advocacy at the state level. Too often motivated consumers, especially from underserved communities,…
Read More