Posts by Ellen Andrews
Medicaid performance dashboard unveiled; marked improvement with switch from HUSKY HMOs
At Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting, DSS described their new ASO accountability dashboard with performance measures for the program. From January 2012, when the HMOs left the program, to this June the number of providers participating in CT’s program has grown 32%, hospital admissions are down 3.2%, the average length of stay is down 5%,…
Read MoreBook Club: David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell
I read this latest addition to the CT Health Policy Project Book Club on a long flight and couldn’t put it down. It should be required reading for every advocate. Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book describes why the underdog often wins against what initially seems like long odds. After he drills down on the story…
Read MoreSIM forum with advocates
This morning, SIM leadership held a forum to explain their plan to advocates. Unfortunately few independent consumer advocates were given an opportunity to ask questions, including this one. Most of the time was taken by SIM committee members expressing their positions, describing their programs and experiences. Many of the questions came from providers and…
Read MoreConnecticut breaks through to a B-/C+ on health reform
Connecticut health care thought leaders give our state a B-/C+ (GPA 2.48) on health reform this fall; the highest marks the state has gotten in over a year. Among issue areas the health insurance exchange and public education improved since the last survey. Areas that lost ground include Medicaid, patient-centered medical homes, health information technology,…
Read MoreOctober CT Health Policy Webquiz: Premiums in CT’s health insurance exchange
Test your knowledge of the premiums in CT’s health insurance exchange. Take the October CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreCT Health Reform Progress Meter moves up to 23.7%
Despite the frenzy surrounding the opening of the insurance exchanges, health reform has many other moving parts. CT policymakers have completed 26.2% of the tasks necessary for health reform, making progress from last month. Again, Medicaid accounted for the forward progress in October’s Health Reform Dashboard. As last month, deep concerns about payment reform…
Read MoreCT insurance exchange switch flips on — lots of interest, some glitches
Yesterday’s opening of CT’s insurance exchange, Access Health CT,went about as well as expected. Despite the administration and exchange staff’s repeated lowering of expectations, there was a lot of interest – 123,000 visits to the website by 28,000 unique visitors by 4pm. 167 people got signed up for coverage, including 84 into the Medicaid…
Read MoreSIM update — questions about numbers driving policy
Significant questions have been raised about the methodology and sources for the Sept. 17th SIM presentation (slide 30) asserting that 62% of primary care providers in CT currently have provider risk/shared savings/total cost of care arrangements with providers. Questions relate to whether the populations included are representative of the state, provider types included, whether…
Read MoreCT exchange premiums 4th highest in US
A new analysis from the White House finds that CT’s insurance exchange premiums are among the highest in the nation – behind only Alaska, Mississippi, and Wyoming. CT residents and small businesses buying unsubsidized coverage through the exchange will pay 28 to 37% more than most Americans depending on which plan they choose. We…
Read MoreHUSKY is growing outreach tool for community organizations
Connecticut’s Medicaid/HUSKY program is significantly expanding effective January 1st. 700,000 state residents are already benefitting from the program and up to another 130,000 may qualify under new eligibility rules. Many people denied Medicaid or HUSKY in the past will now qualify. Medicaid and HUSKY provide comprehensive health care coverage without cost. To ensure that…
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