Posts by Ellen Andrews
Webinar Wednesday: Health Insurance Exchanges – States Sharing Resources, Solving Problems
Join CSG/ERC’s health policy committee for a webinar this Wednesday, May 20th – Health Insurance Exchanges – States Sharing Resources, Solving Problems. We’ll hear from two states – Connecticut and Maryland – that shared expertise and best practices on health insurance exchanges. Depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer in King v. Burwell, eight…
Read MoreCAB continues closed meetings to make decisions
Yesterday’s SIM Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) meeting to choose consumer representatives to SIM committees was again held in secret. An FOI complaint is pending over their lack of transparency. This time applicants were notified that their applications were being reviewed but less than 24 hours before the meeting. One applicant requested, as allowed under state…
Read MoreCSG/ERC webinar to highlight CT’s exchange services for other states
Join CSG/ERC’s health policy committee for a webinar, open to all, May 20th – Health Insurance Exchanges – States Sharing Resources, Solving Problems. We’ll hear Peter VanLoon of Access Health CT, describe opportunities to assist other states with their exchanges. Depending on how the Supreme Court rules in King v. Burwell this summer, eight million…
Read MoreCommunity Health Worker Symposium
Learn more about Community Health Workers in CT at a Symposium sponsored by the Hispanic Health Council May 27th from 8am to 2pm at the Mark Twain House in Hartford. Hear from CT hospital, academic, philanthropic and payer leaders about evidence-based models that integrate CHWs into clinical teams and community settings and options for sustainable…
Read MoreCT conference on SIM payment reforms in other states
Yesterday the CT Health Foundation hosted an interesting conference highlighting SIM plans from leading states – VT, OR, MN, and ME. The conference started and ended with reports from CT’s DSS about our significant Medicaid successes in improving quality and access while controlling costs – and how that progress was only possible when we shifted…
Read MoreMay web quiz on CT adult health risk factors
Test your knowledge of health risks among CT adults. Take the May CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreCT Medicaid/CHIP programs lost 11,019 members between January and February
A new CMS report found that enrollment in CT’s Medicaid and CHIP programs dropped by 11,019 (-1.5%) from January to February of this year. This is very usual, especially among states that have chosen to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Among expansion states, Medicaid/CHIP enrollment averaged 0.98% growth; even non-expansion states saw an average 0.43%…
Read MoreCT health reform progress moving backward again this month
CT’s progress toward health reform dropped from to 27.0% this month mainly because of SIM setbacks again, but the Appropriations Committee’s vote to reverse many proposed budget cuts is a ray of hope to maintain Medicaid’s progress. A six-month delay to SIM’s rush into risky shared savings models is a good start to begin thoughtful…
Read MoreCT exchange plans violating ACA women’s coverage protections
Researchers found eight violations in 2014 and thirteen violations this year of Affordable Care Act women’s coverage provisions by plans offered in CT’s insurance exchange. The new report by the National Women’s Law Center analyzed benefits and offerings of ACA-required services women need among marketplace plans in fifteen states. Violations in CT included breastfeeding supports…
Read MoreSIM responds to advocates’ Medicaid concerns
Monday the Lieutenant Governor responded to a letter signed by independent advocates signed by twenty independent consumer advocates and providers raising concerns about SIM’s plans for Medicaid. In her letter, the Lieutenant Governor agreed that CT’s Medicaid program has become a national model of success, improving access to care, raising quality and controlling costs. Those achievements resulted…
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