Posts by Ellen Andrews
FDA panel barely approves new antibiotic for pneumonia
Friday, the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drug Advisory Committee split 7 to 6, to approve Solithromycin, a new drug for community-acquired pneumonia. Pneumonia is responsible for 4.5 million ambulatory visits. About half of bacteria causing pneumonia in the US are now resistant to the best current treatment option. The committee agreed that the drug was proven effective,…
Read MoreTroubling Cabinet vote for downside risk on Medicaid and state employees, but there will be a public hearing
In a 13 to 4 vote Tuesday, the Health Care Cabinet voted to impose the controversial downside risk payment model on CT’s Medicaid and state employee plans. DSS, OPM, DPH and the only consumer advocate at the meeting all voted against the option (votes are listed below). Deep concerns have been raised about downside…
Read MoreNominations open for New England comparative effectiveness council
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review is seeking new members for the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council, in addition to two other councils in California and the Midwest. Many health policy experts blame new technologies for drugs, devices and other innovations with driving health costs up without necessarily improving the quality of…
Read MoreCT Health Reform Dashboard responds to efforts to undermine constructive policies
This month’s Health Reform Dashboardupdate reflects more attempts to unravel progress in CT. Medicaid leads the concerns with broken promises on downside risk and attempts to weaken critical consumer notices about shifting provider incentives, potential underservice, and how to protect yourself. OHCA’s approval of YNHH’s acquisition of L&M health system will require a lot…
Read MoreCoalition calls for transparency, public input on Yale L+M deal
A broad coalition of consumer advocates, including the CT Health Policy Project, community leaders, caregivers, labor representatives, and providers has called on OHCA to engage the public and consider the community when implementing the unusual deal allowing Yale to purchase L+M hospital and physician group. In a letter to DPH, the coalition praised price caps…
Read MoreAlmost one in six CT adults smokes cigarettes, rate steady and disparities persist
According to new numbers for 2014 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US. Tobacco use is blamed for 480,000 premature deaths and over $300 billion in direct healthcare costs each year. Unfortunately CT is not immune; 15.4% of adults in…
Read MoreNew England health policymakers meet to consider the future of hospitals
Last weekend NESCSO, the Millbank Fund and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services convened a group of twenty-two state executive and legislative branch health policymakers in Portsmouth, NH to consider the future of hospitals in the region. All six New England states were represented. Hospital roles are evolving quickly with national and…
Read MoreMedicaid Council weighs in on Health Care Cabinet reform proposal
Last week’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on the controversial Strawman proposal for reforming CT’s health care system and the implications for Medicaid. We reviewed continuing progress in the program improving quality and access while controlling costs. State spending on the program is down, despite strong enrollment growth, and per person costs are stable saving the…
Read MoreSetting the Record Straight on Broken Promises, Now Let’s Move On
Medicaid advocates and providers have been talking a lot about the administration’s policy reversal with a troubling decision to consider downside risk as a payment model for Medicaid. A main source of concern is that stakeholders had clear and repeated promises from the administration not to implement downside risk in Medicaid. Click here to thrash through…
Read MoreHealth Care Cabinet continues to debate reform plan; Medicaid commitment on downside risk reversed
Yesterday’s Health Care Cabinet meeting started with a statement by the Lieutenant Governor stating that the commitment made last year not to implement downside risk in Medicaid was time-limited to end with the state’s SIM grant in 2019. However that was never conveyed to advocates and, in fact, the state made a clear commitment, without…
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