Health Reform
OHS Cost Cap committee retreats on quality, providers driving the delay
The Office of Health Strategy (OHS) rejected concerns been raised by stakeholders and some Cost Cap committee members that the Cost Cap on healthcare spending will be implemented at least a year before reporting on quality performance. Concerns center on the possibility of lowering costs by lowering the quality of care to achieve the ambitious…
Read MoreBook Club: Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism
By Anne Case and Angus Deaton Reversing a century of progress, life expectancy has fallen for three years in a row but only in the US. Rising rates of suicide, drug overdoses and alcoholism are largely to blame. There were early media reports about the trend, but this detailed yet readable book goes much farther.…
Read MoreCost Cap committee considers who qualifies for increased primary care spending
In response to stakeholder feedback that the prior Cost Cap levels were unrealistic and risk unintended harm to patients, at their last meeting the Office of Health Strategy’s Cost Cap committee slightly softened the cap levels. The committee continued their discussion of which providers qualify as primary care providers. OHS wants to significantly increase the…
Read MoreUpdate: OHS committee slightly eases unrealistic cap for CT healthcare costs
In response to stakeholder concerns, at their July 29th meeting the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS) Technical Team choosing the cap for future Connecticut healthcare costs eased their previous decision on how much healthcare costs for every state resident will be allowed to increase over the next five years. Many stakeholders have voiced concerns that…
Read MoreComprehensive updated resource on Connecticut’s health landscape from DPH, get involved
Almost one in six Connecticut children are food insecure and the number of state residents newly diagnosed with HIV has been dropping since 2010, according to the Dept. of Public Health’s new 2019 State Health Assessment. In 2017, 14.4% of Connecticut high school students used e-cigarettes, up from 2.4% in 2009. Over one in four…
Read MoreCost cap update – possible easing on growth cap but primary care target proves difficult
In response to concerns from many sources about potential harm to people, the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) is considering easing the proposed caps on the growth of all healthcare spending. In the latest Technical Team meeting, OHS and Bailit, the consultants running the project, said they would consider starting the cap next year higher…
Read MoreStudy finds PCMHs cost less, fewer ED visits than ACOs
A new analysis finds that total healthcare costs and ED visits are significantly lower for adult patients of Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) than for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), hybrids (both PCMHs and ACOs), or standard care (from facilities that are neither). PCMH patients had the lowest average total cost of care, 23% lower than standard…
Read MoreCTNJ: For a better post-COVID policy process, CT needs to abolish all committees
I couldn’t agree more with my advocacy friends who called on the legislature to open public hearings to online participation. But legislative hearings are only part of the problem. Connecticut policymakers need to abolish all taskforces, boards, workgroups, design groups, consortia, advisory and steering committees, teams, councils, and similar committees. These insular groups, run with…
Read MoreCTNJ: COVID Response Offers Opportunities for Connecticut’s Future Healthcare System
The pandemic has been tragic in both lives lost and economic damage, especially to low wage workers. Our already flawed healthcare system has been seriously disrupted. Insurer profits are up, hospitals are losing money, and Connecticut healthcare jobs in April were down 28,400 from the year before. As the pandemic winds down, the recovery offers…
Read MoreHospitals question viability and policy in OHS plans to share medical records
It’s unusual when independent consumer advocates and hospitals are on the same page. In a strongly worded letter, the CT Hospital Association laid out serious problems with OHS’s proposed plan to share data in their controversial Health Information Exchange (HIE). Only some hospitals were given the opportunity to comment on OHS’s plans. Under law, all…
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