CT Health Reform
CT 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 MoreA Better Idea for SIM-Medicaid: Coordinate Care for High-Need, High-Cost Patients
Independent consumer advocates and others have raised grave concerns about Connecticut’s State Innovation Model (SIM) plans to radically change financial incentives in our state’s Medicaid program. The experience of other states offers a proven alternative, targeting resources toward high-need, high-cost patients, that would protect the impressive success we’ve achieved in the last three years. This…
Read MoreCT health reform progress moving backward
CT’s progress toward health reform dropped from 29.0% to 27.4% this month mainly because of SIM setbacks and state budget cuts. Both implemented and new proposed cuts to Medicaid provider rates threaten significant progress over the last three years. Cuts to the promising health neighborhood project and a rush into risky shared savings models threaten…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed: Health Neighborhood cuts misguided
An Op-Ed in today’s CT News Junkie focuses on the Governor’s proposal to cut funding for innovative health neighborhood pilots to serve state residents eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. This program will improve the quality of care for Medicaid’s most costly aged and disabled members, providing significant savings to the state’s budget. The program…
Read MoreCutting HUSKY parents increases the total cost of care by $500 per person
The Governor’s budget proposal to cut 34,000 working parents from the HUSKY program into AccessHealthCT will increase the total cost of care for those parents by $500/year according to a new analysis by the CT Health Foundation. While the state will save $2,400 per person annually, two thirds of the cost shift will fall on…
Read MoreCT exchange premiums still fourth highest in US, negotiating premiums could help
A new analysis by the Urban Institute comparing health insurance exchange premiums across the US finds that CT’s 2015 premiums are the fourth highest in the US, as they were last year. The study compares average monthly premiums for 40-year old, non-smoking state residents — $348 in CT. Like last year, our premiums are higher…
Read MoreHealth reform update – the power of price transparency, more SIM concerns
At an important Public Health Committee hearing Wednesday, Senate leaders from both parties testified together on a slate of seven bills that would make a great start to reforming health care in our state. Among other things the bills address facility fees, price variation that has no relation to quality, hospital consolidation oversight, EMR assistance…
Read MoreCT 2015 insurance exchange enrollment – the numbers are in
Two thirds of CT residents who secured coverage through AccessHealthCT’s portal this year were eligible for Medicaid, according to the latest federal enrollment report. Another 29% were eligible for financial assistance to buy coverage from a private insurer, and just under 6% bought coverage without subsidies. Of the 109,839 people who selected health plans on…
Read MoreCT health reform progress still stalled
CT’s progress toward health reform remains stalled yet again this month. The March meter moved down from last month slightly to 29.0%. Medicaid quality measures and public input were highlights. But placing Medicaid’s successes and reform planning in jeopardy, and SIM ethics challenges dragged progress down. The CT health reform progress meter is part of…
Read MoreFascinating HBJ article on role, challenges for brokers in AccessHealthCT
The Hartford Business Journal reports on the experiences of CT’s insurance brokers in the success of AccessHealthCT. Brokers have assisted about 35% of the 90,000 current members enroll in coverage, but they are not universally supportive of the exchange. Challenges include technology problems and system failures, no reimbursement for helping people eligible for Medicaid, and…
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