Posts by Ellen Andrews
January web quiz – national health reform and Connecticut
Test your knowledge of how national health reforms will help Connecticut. Take the January CT Health Policy Web Quiz.
Read MoreManaged care proposal for seniors and people with disabilities
DSS has issued an RFQ to provide managed care to 26,000 Medicaid only recipients who are Aged, Blind or Disabled. Those people are now covered under the fee-for-service program. No one disputes that this population could use some care management, especially the 26,000 consumers who struggle to access care in a dysfunctional system. However, rather…
Read MoreNew laws take effect; New Haven anti-tobacco crusader/educator just gets it done
Some new state laws took effect Friday including a few related to health – coverage of autism, prohibiting payment for hospital-acquired conditions and insurers and limits insurers’ use of anti-anxiety drug treatment in underwriting. Nothing revolutionary, but good stuff. A story in the New Haven Independent last week featured Kenneth Driffin, a social worker who…
Read MoreMy favorite end of the year list
Time’s Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of 2009 includes epigenetics, water on the moon, and gene therapy curing color blindness. Some days I miss my old job, but then I learned from the list that robots can do science now. Happy New Year. Ellen Andrews
Read MoreThe health benefits of coffee
This is one less resolution we need to make for Friday – coffee is good for you, from the Wall Street Journal. Sort of, maybe, not for some people with some conditions. It’s all very complicated. No wonder consumers have no idea what to eat and drink. Ellen Andrews
Read MoreHow do shared doctor visits work?
Shared medical appointments have been described as an important innovation to improve access to better quality care, especially for chronically ill patients. Proponents claim that shared appointments provide faster access to care, more time with the doctor, support from other patients facing the same illness, better patient and provider satisfaction, and improved efficiency. A video…
Read MoreJudge reinstates health coverage for 4,800 legal immigrants in CT
Late Friday, Hartford judge Grant Miller overruled Governor Rell’s action to cut off HUSKY for CT legal immigrant adults. Governor Rell implemented the cut December 1st without legislative action. The judge’s reversal was in response to a suit brought by Greater Hartford Legal Aid. DSS intends to appeal the ruling. DSS also incorrectly terminated dozens…
Read MoreInsurance Dept. approves insurer rate increases 85% of the time
A report by the CT’s Office of Legislative Research on rate increases approved for the five largest health insurance companies, found that the CT Insurance Dept. (CID) sided with insurers in 22 cases out of 26 since 2006. The average approved rate increase was 12%. This analysis covers a small number of health plan rate…
Read MorePatient-Centered Medical Homes in national reform
Very early this morning, the US Senate overcame the last barrier to passing historic health care reform. The bill they will vote on is similar to the one recently passed by the House in many ways, but differs significantly in provisions for patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). Proponents have argued that PCMHs will both improve the…
Read MoreMA anti-smoking program helped 30,000 people quit; exceeds expectations
Three years ago when policymakers in Massachusetts voted to cover anti-smoking treatment under Medicaid, they expected to eventually see results. But the rate of smoking among poor state residents is down from 38% to 28% since 2006, and hospitalizations for heart attacks and ER visits for asthma are also down. The rates of smoking and…
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