Health Reform
Payment reform webinar slides and video posted
Yesterday Bob Berenson of the Urban Institute graciously walked dozens of webinar participants through the pros and cons of the main payment reform options – fee-for-service, capitation/population-based payment, shared savings and bundles/episodes – and the key challenges of each. Several CT plans are now considering implementing shared savings models, including Medicaid. The main takeaways, from…
Read MoreFascinating discussion — US Senate panel considering regulatory barriers to ACOs
The first meeting of a panel convened by Sen. Angus King (ME) to consider federal regulatory barriers to provider risk payment models was held in Dirksen Senate Office Building this morning. The panel was moderated by Michael Chernew of the Health Care Markets and Regulation Lab at Harvard Medical School, which is guiding the process…
Read MoreHHS finds ACA is lowering hospital uncompensated care costs
CT News Junkie is reporting on a new analysis by HHS finding that hospital uncompensated care costs are down significantly, particularly in Medicaid expansion states like Connecticut. However the CT Hospital Association says they have not experienced a decrease in the first nine months of 2014. The state’s OPM budget office expects to see a…
Read MoreMore CT Medicaid benefits from dropping insurers – no ACA taxes
Because CT dropped insurers from our Medicaid plan three years ago, we are not subject to the ACA tax on insurers saving state taxpayers more than a billion dollars over the next decade. The ACA tax on fully-insured plans is due for the first time September 30 and will cost fully-insured states $700 million just this…
Read MoreAugust CT Health Policy Webquiz: ACA insurance rebates in CT
Test your knowledge about ACA insurance rebates to CT residents. Take the August CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreCSG/ERC Hopkins tour highlights patient safety, care coordination and cancer innovations
Yesterday’s off-site trip to Johns Hopkins from the CSG/ERC annual meeting was impressive. We heard about out of the box thinking by a clinical scientist that led to a breakthrough in treating lung cancer – that very low, but longer term doses of chemotherapy drugs worked better than full doses in shrinking tumors and helped…
Read MoreCA’s exchange keeps coverage affordable through negotiation
Premiums on California’s exchange will rise only 4.2% next year, due in large part to active purchasing. Overall health spending is expected to rise 6.2% next year. Through active purchasing, CA’s exchange negotiates premiums with insurers to get the best deal for consumers. Connecticut’s exchange does not negotiate premiums on behalf of consumers. CT’s insurance…
Read MoreValue over Volume 2.0 – twenty three tools for state policymakers to improve quality and control costs
Health care costs consume nearly a quarter of state budgets, and that share is rising at a rate that policymakers agree is unsustainable. Evidence shows that our runaway spending is not driving improved quality, and that lasting reform will require a shift from a volume-based system to one based on value. The good news is…
Read More$3 million in ACA insurance rebates coming to CT residents
69,186 CT residents will soon receive $3 million in rebates from insurers that spent less than 80% (individual coverage) or 85% (large groups) of premiums on medical or quality improvement services last year. The rebates result from Medical Loss Ratio provisions in the ACA. CT’s total is down from $5.6 million in total refunds for…
Read MoreCMS announces new assistance for states to improve health system, many SIM alternatives
Today CMS unveiled the Innovation Accelerator Program providing states with over 50 tools, programs and technical assistance to improve Medicaid programs – both delivery and payment reforms. SIM is only one of the dozens of tools listed. The tools include numerous alternatives to CT’s risky SIM proposal to achieve every one of the goals outlined…
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