Posts by Ellen Andrews
Medicaid update: Enrollment numbers coming finally, highlighting progress
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on enrollment numbers and reviewing achievements in the program. DSS outlined challenges that have delayed reporting enrollment numbers for two years and their new system for reporting the numbers. Rather than getting enrollment reports on paper as in the past, DSS is posting the data on CT Open Data. Visitors…
Read MoreConnecticut’s uninsured rate up, reversing four-year trend
New numbers from the US Census Bureau report that 194,000 or 5.5% of Connecticut residents were uninsured last year. That number is up 22,000 from the year before when the uninsured rate was 4.9%. The new data breaks a trend of fewer uninsured that began with implementation of coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act…
Read MoreCT uninsured numbers up breaking four year trend
The US Census estimates that last year 194,000 CT residents, 5.5% of us, were uninsured according to data released today. That is up 22,000 and 4.9% from the previous year’s estimate. This mirrors national trends with 715,000 more uninsured Americans last year than in 2016. Unfortunately CT lost more ground from 2016 to 2017, with…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Health disparities are real and new payment schemes are probably making them worse
Connecticut is a very healthy place; we rank fifth healthiest among states. But not all state residents share in that good fortune; too many suffer from health inequities. Very good people across the state are doing important work promoting better health for everyone. However some emerging policies, both government and private sector, are working at…
Read MoreCT excels at getting Medicaid-eligible families enrolled
A new study finds that 96.3% of CT children eligible for HUSKY participated in the program in 2016; we are tied for seventh among states. The US average is 93.7% for all states; 94.9% for states, like CT, that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Even better, CT ranks fourth among states in enrolling…
Read MoreLidocaine patch leads CT Medicaid drug spending
According to the latest data visualization from 46brooklyn, CT’s Medicaid program is spending a lot on lidocaine patches. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that relieves nerve pain. Over the last three available quarters (Q3,4 2017 and Q1 2018), Lidocaine patches have topped CT Medicaid’s list of 25 most costly medications. This medication isn’t on the…
Read MoreRash of New Haven overdoses the latest in a growing CT problem
The New Haven Register is reporting that there’ve been 80 overdoses on the Green in the last two days. Two patients overdosed three times each Wednesday. It was ongoing earlier this afternoon. DPH delivered 50 more doses of naloxone to city first responders and is facilitating communications between city agencies. DMHAS has engaged mental health…
Read MoreNo CT hospitals make US News 2018 Honor Roll
No Connecticut hospital made US News’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll or their Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll this year. Four are nationally ranked in at least one specialty or performance area – Yale-New Haven (#1 in CT), Hartford Hospital (#2), St. Francis (#3) and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. US News ranks hospitals based on patient…
Read MoreGood news – FDA committee reviewing lots more antibiotics
The best news from this week’s FDA Anti-Microbial Advisory Committee meeting was that there are a lot of meetings. A busy committee means that they have more antibiotics to review. The race against drug-resistant superbugs has reduced incentives for drug companies to develop antibiotics. These drugs cost as much to develop as others but are…
Read MoreCTNJ: Capitation vs. fee for service: Which team are you on?
is a sharp divide within Connecticut’s healthcare community over how to pay for care that’s as fervent as the Yankees vs. Red Sox split. Some believe that capitation is the holy grail, but others believe that fee for service isn’t the problem and isn’t broken. Read more
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