Legislative briefing on health care reform

A special briefing on health care, “Health Care Reform: Opportunities for New Directions”, was held yesterday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Spectators almost filled the room. Speakers included Congressman Christopher Murphy, 5th District; Joy Johnson Wilson, Health Policy Director for the National Conference of State Legislators; and Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Vice President of State…

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May CT Health Policy Web Quiz

Test your knowledge of CT hospital finances, take the May CT Health Policy Web Quiz. This month’s quiz was written by Karen Nepomuceno, Policy Intern at the CT Health Policy Project.

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Health care reform briefing for legislators

Monday there will be a special briefing for legislators, open to the public, on Health Care in 2009: Challenge and Opportunity. Speakers include Sen. Chris Dodd, Congressman Chris Murphy, Enrique Martinez-Vidal of Academy Health’s State Coverage Initiative, and Joy Johnson Wilson from the National Council of State Legislatures. The briefing will be in Room 2C…

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New briefs on impact of HUSKY cuts

Two new briefs were presented yesterday at a legislative briefing by the CT Health Foundation. Speakers included Jack Hoadley from Georgetown University to describe his research on cost sharing for HUSKY families and cutting coverage for immigrants, and Evelyn Richardson, a mother from Hartford, to discuss the impact of HUSKY cuts on her family. Adults…

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Authorities Update

Both the Primary Care and HealthFirst Authorities met yesterday, the later most likely for the last time. The HealthFirst Authority meeting featured Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist, who is the leading proponent of individual mandates across the US. He championed the mandate in MA and is working with other states and the fed.s on building…

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Donaghue Foundation conference notes

The Donaghue Foundation held their annual conference titled “Innovation in the quest for better health: Patient driven transformations in research, technology, and treatments.” The conference was well-attended by people from a wide variety of organizations, from hospitals to banks and non-profits. The first speaker was Alejandro Jadad, MD, Chief Innovator & Founder, Center for Global…

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New consumer tip sheets

The Consumer Health Action Network has published new tip sheets and the new federal poverty levels. The tip sheets, available in English and Spanish, include Finding Health Insurance After You Lose Your Job, Individual Insurance Plans: What to Look Out For, and our Updated COBRA tip sheet. The poverty levels are used to determine eligibility…

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Recent media stories highlighting medical error s in CT

Efraim Gomez-Zapata, Stamford physician, will have a hearing this week before the medical examining board and is facing a civil suit. A family practitioner, Dr. Gomez is not board certified in cosmetic surgery or anesthesia. However, he has been advertising himself as a leader in laser liposuction surgery in the Hispanic community. Apparently this is…

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PCCM subcommittee to meet

At the last Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting, a subcommittee was formed to follow and advise DSS on implementation of the HUSKY PCCM program. The first meeting of that subcommittee will be May 20th at 10am in Room 3800 of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Hartford. For directions to the LOB, click here. The…

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April 30th briefing on proposed elimination of legal immigrant coverage

Next Thursday, April 30th at 10:30am in Room 1E of the LOB, the CT Health Foundation will hold a briefing on budget proposals to eliminate health coverage for legal immigrants and proposals to increase copays and other costs on all HUSKY families. Two policy briefs will be released at the briefing. Speakers include Pat Baker…

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