Health Reform
Analysis: The real goal of Medicaid work requirements
An old saying goes, there’s no right way to do the wrong thing. I hope that’s not true. Connecticut has to implement a requirement in HR-1, the new federal budget act, that 340,000 adults on Medicaid must work to keep their healthcare coverage. This wasn’t our idea; our policymakers didn’t vote for it. But we…
Read MoreHUSKY and work requirements – How to make it work
The largest cut in the new federal budget bill is Medicaid work requirements. It’s expected that 137,000 Connecticut residents will lose coverage and our state will lose $118 billion over the next ten years. If history repeats, most will lose coverage in error – they will be working or exempt Only two states have implemented…
Read MoreQuality chapter in CT Healthcare Explained updated
We’ve updated the Quality chapter of CT Healthcare Explained. The update was prompted by new numbers and new topics, including hospital and Medicaid quality of care. CT Healthcare Explained is our explainer website cutting through the complexities of our state’s healthcare system. Like the other 17 topic sections, Private Insurance includes a Basics summary and…
Read MoreAnalysis: State agencies need partners to avoid the havoc that’s coming
Lately, I’ve been reminded of both the importance and the difficulty in working with state agencies. But collaboration between state agencies and outside stakeholders who share the same goals has never been more important. Read more
Read MoreMedicare chapter in CT Healthcare Explained updated
We’ve made another massive update to CT Healthcare Explained – this time to the Medicare chapter. The update was prompted by new numbers and new research, especially about Medicare Advantage plans. We also included the changes to the program required by the budget bill passed by Congress and the Trump administration this month. CT Healthcare…
Read MoreMedicaid chapter in CT Healthcare Explained updated
We’ve made a massive update to the Medicaid chapter of CT Healthcare Explained. The update was prompted by new numbers and updated performance. We also included the significant changes to the program required by the budget bill passed by Congress and the Trump administration this month. We also included a description of Connecticut’s decision not…
Read MoreAnalysis: CT is a National Leader in Fight to Control Drug Costs
This year, Connecticut passed meaningful laws to control stubbornly-high prescription drug prices. According to the Office of Health Strategy, prescription drugs are among the top three drivers of Connecticut’s unaffordable healthcare costs, across Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance. States don’t have the powerful levers that federal policymakers could access, and federal law can be a…
Read MoreCT health policy learning opportunity
To help build health policy capacity in our state, the CT Health Policy Project is launching a guided study/class that builds on CT Healthcare Explained. There is no cost for the course. There is a webpage for the course (learncthealth.org) that starts in September and runs through December. We’ll use a hybrid format – video…
Read MoreCT drops five notches in health system performance ranking
Connecticut ranks 11th among states according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Scorecard on State Health System Performance report. While we’re still ahead of 39 states, we fell from 6th place in the 2023 report. The problems touch the cost of care, no surprise, but also utilization/access and quality. The cost of care gets a lot…
Read MoreFederal changes are coming into view – it’s not good, but there is hope
It’s hard to keep up with the updates about the potential impact of Congressional healthcare proposals. Just when there is a glimmer of light, it gets worse. I won’t blame anyone for not reading any further. For those of us who can’t look away, here are two new analyses of note and two glimmers of…
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