Health Coverage
State individual mandate law would lower uninsured by 88,000 and premiums by 10%
A new analysis by the Commonwealth Fund estimates the impact if states passed their own individual mandate laws, similar to Massachusetts’ law that predated the ACA. According to researchers, by 2020 CT could expect our uninsured rate to drop by 34% with 88,000 more state residents having coverage. Most would gain coverage through Medicaid/CHIP (33,000)…
Read More31 ways to save on healthcare in Connecticut’s budget
Connecticut’s state budget is facing future deficits and health spending is a large share of the budget. The state now spends $3.8 billion between Medicaid and the state employee health plan to cover about a million state residents. Health care spending outside the state budget is also growing. Connecticut has the sixth highest per capita…
Read MoreMost CT uninsured qualify for ACA coverage
Almost two in three uninsured CT residents qualifies for either Medicaid or tax credits through Access Health CT, according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. While the uninsured rate dropped by half after implementation of the Affordable Care Act, 217,000 CT residents remained uninsured in 2016. Of those 63,000 (29%) were eligible…
Read MoreACA Medicaid expansion benefits to CT include fewer uninsured, lower ED use, access to behavioral healthcare
A new analysis by the CT Health Foundation outlines the “unqualified success” of CT’s HUSKY expansion. In 2010 CT was the first state to exercise the Affordable Care Act option to expand Medicaid to low income, childless adults, labelling the new population HUSKY Part D. The expansion was largely responsible for cutting CT’s uninsured rate…
Read MoreWorking parents can keep HUSKY coverage
The consensus state budget passed late yesterday includes full restoration of eligibility for current HUSKY parents. Over 13,000 working parents with incomes up to 155% of the federal poverty level ($32,209 this year) will keep coverage under the HUSKY program. Also in the budget is funding to cover out-of-pocket health costs for low income seniors…
Read MoreCalls needed to save healthcare for 13,000 working parents
Unless legislators act soon, 13,000 working parents will lose HUSKY coverage this coming January 1st. Sally Grossman, one of those parents with two small children, runs her own house painting business. According to Sally, “Every year I do a little better. But if I earn over $28,000, I lose my health insurance.” Click here for…
Read MoreSmart CT Medicaid smoking cessation coverage
A new CDC analysis finds that CT’s Medicaid program is among the most progressive in covering smoking cessation treatments. Medicaid members are twice as likely to smoke as other Americans. Smoking-related treatment costs US Medicaid programs about $39 billion annually, so effective tools to quit are a smart investment for states. Despite improvements, most states’…
Read MoreFirst 2018 CT Health Reform Dashboard reflects lack of progress and growing concerns
The state’s announcement that Medicaid intends to double down on PCMH+ — the experimental, risky new payment model – starting in March without any idea of how it harmed (or helped) over 100,000 people last year is the top concern moving into 2018. It’s also emblematic of how CT makes health policy – flying blind,…
Read MoreCT spends more on healthcare per capita than other Americans, but less as a percent of total spending
While average per capita healthcare service spending by Connecticut residents at $7,509 was the 13th highest among states last year, at 15.4% of total consumption, we were below the US average, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Connecticut residents’ average healthcare service spending was the lowest in New England. Total per capita personal consumption…
Read MoreCensus data finds CT uninsured rate dropping and a few other things
New data from the US Census finds that the number of CT uninsured was down last year to 172,000, a drop of almost half from 2013. The gains are largely due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansions of Medicaid and insurance subsidies. The data also highlight the opposite impact of the recession. While employer-sponsored…
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