CT Health Reform
Testimony: Consolidation’s harms to stressed healthcare workers
From Haley Magnetta, fellow at CT Health Policy Project, written testimony in support of SB-417, An Act Promoting Competition in Contracts Between Health Carriers and Health Care Providers I am testifying as a clinically practicing Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant (PA). As a provider who has worked in hospitals that have been consolidated, I want to…
Read MoreFact Check: Does OHS’s Primary Care Roadmap include capitation? Yes, 31 times
In the Insurance Committee’s March 1st public hearing on HB-5042, advocates stated that the Office of Health Strategy’s Primary Care Roadmap plan, authorized in the bill, includes capitation as the payment model. Primary care capitation has failed in Medicare despite significant investment and multiple trials. Advocates are concerned that, if implemented, the Roadmap would divert…
Read MoreInsurance committee to hear bill to mitigate consolidation and lower healthcare costs
Download our testimony One of the main drivers of Connecticut’s rising healthcare costs is consolidation in the healthcare market, making health coverage increasingly unaffordable for consumers, employers, and businesses. Next Thursday, March 14th, the insurance committee will hold a public hearing on SB-416, An Act Promoting Competition in Contracts Between Health Carriers and Health Care…
Read MoreNew tool finds all CT health systems’ commercial prices are far higher than needed to cover expenses
According to a new tool, Connecticut hospitals would have needed commercial rates equal to 135% of Medicare levels in 2020 to cover their expenses, much higher than the US average of 114%. However, every health system in Connecticut charged well above that level, far more than needed to cover expenses. The National Academy for State…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Children deserve healthcare, regardless of immigration status
Last year, Connecticut policymakers made the smart and moral decision to provide HUSKY coverage to children from low-income families through age eight, regardless of immigration status, starting next year. It’s the right thing to do. It makes sense for the children and their families, as well as the rest of us. It’s a good start,…
Read MoreTestimony supporting Governor’s drug price cap and opposing OHS primary care plan
The Insurance and Real Estate Committee is hearing today the Governor’s healthcare bills. Areas of disagreement include a proposal to limit how much drug prices can rise and the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS) plans to cap the growth of overall healthcare spending while doubling spending on primary care. Among non-state agencies, fifteen people and…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Class action against Hartford Healthcare changes the landscape
A new lawsuit filed last week alleges that Hartford Healthcare is manipulating the healthcare market to drive out competition and raise prices for their services, despite their lower quality. The class action suit, brought by six brave Connecticut residents, highlights the harm done to all of us. Ultimately, consumers pay all the bills through our…
Read More25 Advocacy organizations urge legislative leaders to drop OHS Primary Care Roadmap
Download the letter On Tuesday, twenty-five independent advocacy organizations, including the CT Health Policy Project, sent a letter to Connecticut legislative leaders voicing concerns with the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS’s) controversial “Roadmap for Strengthening and Sustaining Primary Care”. Advocates are concerned that the Roadmap diverts $3.9 billion/year when fully implemented in 2025 away from…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Governor’s plan to lower healthcare costs — what’s in and what’s missing
It’s an election year and voters want relief with healthcare costs and insurance premiums. Governor Lamont has proposed a slate of bills to address the problem. He has a good proposal to limit drug price increases, an unnecessary proposal to draft yet another report on what’s driving up costs, and a bad one to divert…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-ED: How much do CT hospitals spend on administration? No one knows
There’s a growing consensus that hospital prices are the main driver of rising healthcare costs and insurance premiums in Connecticut. The research lays the blame on consolidation in the market. Read more
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