CT Health Reform
Advocates’ guide to underservice recommendations
Connecticut’s State Innovation Model (SIM) is seeking to radically transform our state’s $30 billion health system by aligning incentives to build value. SIM has chosen a shared savings payment model for those reforms. Advocates are concerned about incentives to deny necessary care under the new payment model, as happened in the past. SIM’s Equity and…
Read MoreAdvocates’ guide to underservice recommendations
SIM is seeking to radically transform our state’s $30 billion health system and has chosen a shared savings payment model for those reforms. Advocates are concerned about incentives to deny necessary care under the new payment model, as happened in the past. SIM’s Equity and Access Council was charged with developing protections to limit and…
Read MoreCT health reform progress down again
Unfortunately CT’s progress toward health reform dropped again this month to 26.4.5% this month, adding to last month’s dip. News that the only about half of AccessHealthCT consumers are even using the coverage they pay dearly for, increasing concerns about SIM’s ethics and grants to insiders, SIM’s cool reception to consumer protections in risky…
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Medicaid — Connecticut has a lot to be thankful for
Fifty years ago today President Johnson signed the Medicaid program into law. The program now covers one in five Connecticut residents with efficient, quality care. Since switching from a capitated, insurer-based program to a self-determined, care-focused program in January 2012, costs are stable (down slightly) per person, quality is up (fewer people are going to…
Read MoreGrowing percent of AccessHealth CT members are not using their coverage
A new survey by AccessHealth CT found that 36% of their customers had not used their health coverage, compared to 26% last year. One in four (28%) don’t have a primary care provider. Enrollment in qualified health plans is now 96, 966, down 13,129 from the open enrollment period earlier this year. The biggest reason…
Read MoreStudy finds CT early Medicaid expansion reduced hospital uncompensated care
A new study published in this month’s Health Affairs finds that CT hospital Medicaid revenue grew by 7 to 8% after CT took advantage of the ACA’s early Medicaid expansion option in 2010. The study also finds that uncompensated care costs to CT hospitals were one third lower than they would have been without the…
Read MoreCT earns an F on heath price transparency laws, again
CT joined all but five states nationally earning an F grade for public reporting of health prices according to Catalyst for Health Care Reform’s 2015 Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws. The report assesses state laws, regulations and public websites to make health care prices public, allowing consumers to base purchasing decisions on the…
Read MoreCT health reform progress dips again
Unfortunately CT’s progress toward health reform dropped again to 27.5% this month, undermining last month’s gain. News that the state’s uninsured rate may not have dropped much, sharp increases in insurance premiums, SIM’s ethics, transparency and underservice council issues and budget cuts, especially HUSKY parents, all contributed to the decline. Bright spots include restoration of…
Read MoreCT health reform progress moving up again
After five months’ decline, CT’s progress toward health reform rebounded to 27.8% this month. Medicaid’s decision to cover new Hepatitis drugs, six months of breathing room for Medicaid reform development, Senate leadership on health care transparency, and promising comments from the Ethics Board about SIM were responsible for the gains. Uncertainty about the budget and…
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…
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