CT Health Reform
CTNJ 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…
Read MoreThoughtleaders give CT a B-/C+ on health reform
In the latest survey, CT health care thought leaders give our state a B-/C+ grade on health reform, little changed from last year’s survey. CT’s grade for effort rose to a B- in this survey. Higher marks go to patient-centered medical homes and the health insurance exchange. Payment reform/quality improvement scored lowest. CT’s performance on…
Read MoreCT health reform progress still stalled at 29.4%
CT’s progress toward health reform remains stalled. The meter moved down again this month slightly to 29.4%. As usual, Medicaid accounted for most of the progress with ever-increasing data reporting, health neighborhood reform progress, and transparent, collaborative planning. Again SIM challenges lowered the progress meter by excluding free clinics, and transparency (FOI) and accountability (ethics)…
Read MoreCT exchange members more likely to get financial assistance and slightly older than other states
The latest federal ACA enrollment report finds that AccessHealthCT, CT’s health insurance exchange, received 76,460 total applications between Nov. 15th and Jan. 16th. 162,921 state residents were found eligible for Medicaid. Of the 142,287 applicants eligible for exchange coverage, 77% are also eligible for financial assistance – higher than the 70% average across all state-based…
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