CT Health Reform
CT exchange staff won’t negotiate with insurers on behalf of consumers
Staff of the CT Health Insurance Exchange have “opted to utilize an ‘any qualified plan’ approach” for determining which plans can be offered in the exchange. Proposed qualifications are minimal and generally only what is required by the Affordable Care Act. This decision is counter to the CT exchange’s own research. According to the market…
Read MoreState innovation application posted
The state’s application to CMS for a $3 million State Innovation Models Grant is now online. If awarded, the grant would fund health care planning activities including hiring staff at state agencies and consultants. The project will work to align incentives among stakeholders to reform delivery and payment systems. The initiatives include coordinating data across…
Read MoreCT still earns a C+ on reform
Once again, CT health care thoughtleaders give our state a C+ on health reform. From the beginning of the CT Health Thoughtleaders Survey in February, CT has varied between C and C+. CT has always received a B for effort. In good news, grades for the CT Health Insurance Exchange improved since June with fewer…
Read MoreAetna announces layoffs, blames ACA, puzzling
Aetna has announced they will soon be laying off 80 CT workers, 160 nationwide. The company cited competitive pressures from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in their decision, which is puzzling. The ACA legally requires Americans to buy their product, which should substantially improve their bottom line. Significant lobbying from the insurance industry into the…
Read MoreOctober webquiz – pre-exisiting conditions
Test your knowledge of CT residents with pre-exisiting conditions. Take the October CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreExchange Board approves Essential Health Benefits standard – false choice between benefits and cost
Yesterday the CT Health Insurance Exchange Board approved CT’s version of the Essential Health Benefit (EHB) package under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As of January 1, 2014 individual and small group plans will have to cover at least the EHB services. The ACA required that the EHB include at least ambulatory patient services, emergency…
Read MoreJoin us for Consumer Conversations: the CT Health Insurance Exchange
January 1, 2014 every CT resident will be required to secure health coverage. The CT Health Insurance Exchange is being developed under the Affordable Care Act to be a fair, user-friendly marketplace for consumers and small businesses to buy decent coverage, hopefully at an affordable price. The Exchange has not heard consumer voices, does not…
Read More742,000 CT residents with pre-existing conditions’ access to coverage will be protected under ACA
New estimates from Families USA finds that 742,000 non-elderly CT residents have been diagnosed with serious conditions often linked to individual coverage denials. Beginning in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, no Connecticut resident can be denied coverage, charged a higher premium, or sold a policy that excludes coverage of important health services simply because…
Read MoreCT health reform progress up to 15.2%
CT made impressive progress toward health reform in August. We moved from 13.7% of the way to 15.2% this month. Highlights include negotiation of a compromise Essential Health Benefit Package and CMS grant funding to the insurance exchange. The grant is very exciting – the state plans to use most of the funding for a…
Read MoreHHS approves CT application for more insurance exchange funding
Today Health and Human Services, the federal agency tasked with approving and funding state insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, announced that CT’s Level II insurance exchange application has been approved for $107 million, along with new grants for seven other states. A large part of CT’s grant is meant to fund development of…
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