Budget Process
CT hospitals would fare better than most if all payers used Medicare payment rates
A new study published in Health Affairs finds that if commercial payment rates were set at fee-for-service Medicare levels in 2017, US hospital revenue (inpatient and outpatient) would drop by 35%. Interestingly, also raising Medicaid rates to Medicare levels does little to mitigate that, changing the revenue loss to 30%. However, the authors note that…
Read MoreProtecting affordability in a pandemic — Experts find fair prices for remdesivir between $10 and $4,500
In a nation hungry for good news in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, remdesivir has emerged as a first ray of hope. The FDA has quickly approved the drug for emergency use with seriously ill patients. However there are concerns that the data supporting remdesivir’s effectiveness has not been published or peer reviewed by independent scientists…
Read MoreCTNJ: The recession is here, and healthcare is in the center of it
After the longest economic recovery in US history, we’ve been expecting a recession for a long time. We knew when it came, Connecticut healthcare would be hit hard. But no one expected this. Connecticut didn’t fare well in the last recession and we took longer than other states to build back the jobs we lost.…
Read MoreMedicaid switch from MCOs saving taxpayers billions
Download the brief here If Medicaid per member per month costs had held steady at 2012 levels, taxpayers would have spent $2.25 billion more by last year. As with most health care in Connecticut, Medicaid spending was rising quickly before 2012 growing by almost half over the prior four years. But in 2012, Connecticut made…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed: Connecting hospitals with community services is a good first step
It’s great that Connecticut hospitals are using technology to help busy providers connect patients with community services. Without basics like healthy food and safe shelter, patients can’t heal and healthcare costs rise. But referrals are only the first step. The institutions in communities on the other end of the referrals that provide those critical services…
Read MoreCT state budget spends less on Medicaid than other states, saving $209 million
The latest MACStats data release repeated trends from years ago but held a few new nuggets. Last July 857,415, or one in four, Connecticut residents were covered by Medicaid. Connecticut spent 14.9% of our state budget on Medicaid, below the US average of 16%. Our surrounding states were all above the US average — Massachusetts…
Read MoreThirty medically complex children stuck in CT hospitals waiting for home health care cost state over $100 million
Last week, MAPOC’s Complex Care Committee heard from the three remaining home health agencies that provide care for Connecticut’s most medically complex children. We heard about the massive challenges facing both families and agencies. Most parents caring for medically complex children are single mothers due to high divorce rates, who cannot work because of inconsistent…
Read MoreCTNJ: A recession is coming and it could hit Connecticut healthcare hard
While President Trump disagrees, a recent survey found that three in four economists expect the US economy to enter a recession by 2021. Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle – it’s not a question of whether it will happen, but when. The last recession, in 2008, hit Connecticut especially hard, and in…
Read MoreState approves controversial New Haven primary care move
Friday, the state Office of Health Strategy gave final approval Yale-New Haven’s application to move primary care for over 25,000 low income consumers out of neighborhoods and shift them to the Cornell Scott and Fairhaven health centers for payment purposes. Under the final agreement patients would still be cared for by the same YNHH primary…
Read More2019 Connecticut legislative session – what happened and what didn’t happen
Download the full report Connecticut’s General Assembly debated an unusually large number of health-related proposals this year. Some were new and some have been debated for years. Some passed, some were rejected, and some are on hold for next year. As of this writing, only the minimum wage increase bill has been signed into law…
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