Posts by Ellen Andrews
HealthFirst Authority draft report
The Authority’s much anticipated draft report was unveiled earlier this month. Thankfully, it does not include a recommendation for an individual mandate that all consumers must purchase health insurance. The report does recommend auto-enrollment in public programs of anyone who is uninsured with an income under 300% of the federal poverty level. A report on…
Read MoreHealth First Authority update
The Authority is winding down, but there is still no draft of the plan. At Monday’s meeting, members got a list of bullet points that caused serious contention. There were many complaints about disorganization and not having a draft to review. Part of the problem is that they are not on the same page about…
Read MoreHelpful DSS staff
It’s important to recognize people when they are helpful and good at their jobs, especially at DSS. Over the last couple of weeks four people at DSS have been exceptional and we wanted to thank them. One analyst I called for information ran an independent data analysis for me, and when he learned more about…
Read MoreCT hospitals more profitable in 2007
The financial status of CT’s acute care hospitals continued to improve last year, according to OHCA’s latest report. Average margins (profits) were 3.62% of revenues in 2007, up from 2.51% in 2006. The biggest winner was Saint Vincent’s with a margin of 14.49%; Johnson lost 18.73% last year. The number of hospitals that lost money…
Read MoreGood news for CT doctors, United to offer “insurance” that you can buy insurance in the future
CT physicians are getting some relief in their medical malpractice rates, according to today’s Hartford Courant. Most will see no increase next year and some will save money. Unfortunately, those savings are not expected to pass onto consumers. Employers and workers face six to seven percent increases in premiums next year. Other news about doctors…
Read MoreMore from the Consumer Helpline
I received a phone call on Tuesday from a Communications Officer in the Commissioners Office of the Department of Social Services. She was concerned about my blog posted on Monday, which mentions the difficulty I had with the general phone number at one of the DSS regional offices. She explained that there is a toll…
Read MorePCCM advocates forced to walk out of meeting
Yesterday’s PCCM working group meeting at DSS did not go well. DSS had no agenda for the meeting which started twenty minutes late. Advocates asked for an explanation of the department’s sudden decision to reverse course from the months-long policy of starting the program statewide to a far weaker program limited to two smaller communities.…
Read MoreFrom the consumer helpline
I started working with the CT Health Policy Project a few weeks ago and I’ve been familiarizing myself with the types of calls that come into our consumer helpline. So far, what I’ve observed is that for people without health insurance, their options are usually limited. The system of care available to them is fragmented…
Read MoreCharter Oak “pettiness”
To root out the sources of “negativity” about the Governor’s troubled Charter Oak program, on Friday DSS Commissioner Starkowski made very broad requests, under Freedom of Information laws, for any documents pertaining to Charter Oak from a long list of public officials including Sen. Jonathan Harris, Rep. Peter Villano, Sen. Toni Harp, Health Care Advocate…
Read MoreAG, Health Care and Child Advocates call on Governor to separately re-bid HUSKY and Charter Oak contracts
In a press conference today, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, State Health Care Advocate Kevin Lembo, and State Child Advocate Jeanne Milstein commended the Governor for her decision Friday to de-link the HUSKY program of health coverage for families from her Charter Oak Health Plan for uninsured adults. The officials also called on the Governor to…
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