Posts by Ellen Andrews
November CT Health Reform Dashboard – status quo, again and again and again
Like the last two months, November’s CT’s Health Reform Dashboardhas changed little. Growing and understandable mistrust remains at the core of problems in CT. Medicaid policy development and implementation is still mired in mistrust, incomprehensible and misleading consumer “notices”, rushing ahead without data, quality problems, and a lack of transparency while state officials refuse…
Read MoreNominations open for New England comparative effectiveness voting panel
The New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council is seeking nominations for new members. New England CEPAC is a group of clinicians, economists, and patient/consumer representatives that meets three times each year to take a deep dive into the evidence on the effectiveness and value of new drugs, devices and delivery system innovations. At the…
Read MoreCT gets a C for pre-term births
A new report highlights CT’s disappointing performance in reducing pre-term births and ensuring our state’s newest citizens have a healthy start. Almost one in ten (9.4%) CT births happen before 37 weeks, ranking us 31st among states. Hartford County was worst at 10.1%; Litchfield was best at 7.7%. There is wide disparity in pre-term birth…
Read MoreCT Medicaid only state to earn A+ for access to HepC drugs
A new report finds that CT’s Medicaid program leads the US in access to new Hepatitis C medications. Hepatitis C affects 3.5 million Americans and causes more deaths than any other infectious disease. CT Medicaid imposes no liver damage, sobriety or prescriber restrictions to HepC drug access that are common in other states. The report…
Read MoreNew CT insurer report card online
CT’s best kept secret, the latest CT health insurer report card is out. Part of the managed care reform law passed twenty years ago, the report allows consumers, policymakers and other stakeholders to compare health plans across dozens of key performance standards, customer satisfaction rates, provider participation by county, and claims denial rates. As in…
Read MorePresident’s plan to end cost sharing payments would cost CT plans $7 million this year
An analysis by Avalere Health estimates that health plans in CT’s insurance exchange, Access Health CT, would lose $7 million in reimbursements this year unless Congress acts to restore payments. Nationally, plans stand to lose over $1 billion this year. Under the Affordable Care Act, low to moderate income Americans purchasing exchange coverage are protected…
Read MoreCT ranks 3rd highest among states in high-deductible health plans
Analysis of new federal data by SHADAC finds that most people (59.3%) in CT covered by employer-sponsored health plans were in high-deductible plans last year, up from 40% in 2013. For purposes of this study, high-deductible plans are defined as meeting the minimum deductible amount required for Health Savings Account eligibility ($1,300 for an individual…
Read MoreAntibiotic prescribing down in CT but more needs to be done
Between 2010 and 2016, antibiotic prescriptions per person have declined 8% in CT, according to a report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The rate declined even faster (15%) for children. Unfortunately, CT’s rate is still higher than all but 16 other states. Overuse of antibiotics is blamed for contributing to the rise of…
Read MoreWebinar; CT Health Link — new CT Health Information Exchange
Next Thursday, September 28thfrom 10:00 to 11:30am the Complex Care Committee of the Medicaid Council (MAPOC) will host a webinar demonstrating a new statewide Health Information Exchange. The ability for all providers treating each patient to access the information they need to provide the best care is critical. The CT State Medical Society, with KaMMCO…
Read MoreCensus data finds CT uninsured rate dropping and a few other things
New data from the US Census finds that the number of CT uninsured was down last year to 172,000, a drop of almost half from 2013. The gains are largely due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansions of Medicaid and insurance subsidies. The data also highlight the opposite impact of the recession. While employer-sponsored…
Read More