May Health Reform Dashboard, Webquiz online

Test your knowledge about health risk factors in Connecticut adults. Take the May CT Health Policy Webquiz. May’s Health Reform Dashboard and Progress Meter show the state moving backward. While CT improved in data transparency, we lost ground in the APCD’s decision to reject patient-centered policies and deny sensible privacy rights to state residents (more…

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SHOP exchange facing challenges, low enrollment

A CT Mirror article examines the reasons behind very low enrollment in CT’s insurance exchange for small businesses (SHOP). This shouldn’t come as news – low enrollment was predicted by analysts hired by the exchange. The reason was also predicted – it’s expensive. The article explores other problems including poor marketing, no online tool linking…

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208,301 in CT enrolled in health care under ACA

 AccessHealthCT has worked through the queue of applications pending when enrollment into the insurance exchange closed March 31st. Between Jan 1stand March 31st, 208,301 state residents were enrolled in coverage. Most qualified for Medicaid – 129,588 – approximately the number of new eligibles originally estimated for the state. (For the nitpickers out there – it…

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Health Care Cabinet meeting — SIM, exchange updates

Yesterday’s Cabinet meeting was lively — not sure it was productive. The insurance exchange reported on a flurry of last minute activity that significantly boosted enrollment. Final numbers will be available in a few weeks when it becomes clear how many people follow through and pay premiums, and the backlog of people in the queue…

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CTNJ Op-Ed: How is CT’s exchange really doing?

CT News Junkie is a CT treasure that policymakers, advocates and other stakeholders rely on for the latest information on the topics we need to track. CTNJ gives you the unvarnished news about what’s happening, and why. CTNJ Op-Eds offer an important platform for thoughtful commenters to give context to the news and offer their…

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Health Insurance exchange: “customer complaints are a blessing”

In yesterday’s Health Care Cabinet meeting’s insurance exchange report we learned that staff there welcome complaints as windows into their system’s flaws. They understand that if they hear one complaint, it usually means there are 50 other consumers with the same problem who didn’t call. They see these as opportunities to fix problems and learn.…

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Thoughtleaders give CT health reform a C+ again

In the first survey since the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions became effective, state health thoughtleaders’ perception of our state’s progress hasn’t changed much. CT again earned a C+ on health reform, and interestingly a somewhat lower C grade for effort in the latest survey. Among issue areas, CT continues to earn better marks for…

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Exchange affordability measure gutted in committee

In yesterday’s Insurance Committee meeting, SB-11was amended to delay CT’s insurance exchange negotiating premiums with insurers and changed “shall” to “may”, essentially making the legislation irrelevant. The exchange has refused to negotiate with insurers in the past, arguing among other things that it was too early to worry about high premiums. Since last year, exchanges…

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Exchange active purchasing bill has a public hearing

The legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee has raised SB-11, An Act Concerning the Duties of the CT Health Insurance Exchange, and will hold a public hearing on the bill next Tuesday. SB-11 requires the CT Health Insurance Exchange to active purchase health coverage for the estimated one in ten state residents who will purchase…

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New exchange numbers – good news but lots of questions

CT’s health insurance exchange has enrolled 121,983 people into coverage, exceeding next month’s goal. In other good news, CT is beginning to catch up to other states in Medicaid enrollment – 71,318 (58%) of those enrollments were into Medicaid, 22,335 (31%) of those would have qualified for Medicaid without the ACA. The exchange estimates that…

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