Value-based purchasing and VT health care reform updates

Our second day of health panels at last week’s CSG/ERC annual meeting in Burlington VT started with a set of talks on value-based purchasing and how states can take advantage of this critical health reform trend. Value-based purchasing reorients financial incentives to align all stakeholders and reward improvements in health. The current fee-for-service system rewards…

Read More

CT on health reform.gov

On Friday, President Obama’s website tracking health care reform published state-specific pages making the case for reform. CT’s numbers aren’t surprising, but it’s another source for info. Family premiums in CT approximately equal the entire wages of a full time minimum wage worker. Employers offering coverage is dropping, health care costs are skyrocketing, and the…

Read More

Former insurance executive tells the truth

We haven’t been blogging much on national health reform here at CT Health Notes. No need for it – that space is crowded with great blogs at the national level. Like everyone else, we’ve been following them and “official” developments closely. But yesterday something extraordinary happened. A former insider at two large insurance companies opened…

Read More

New from Health Affairs –6.9 million more uninsured Americans by 2010, MA reform benefits continue, and cost does not equal quality in health care

Study predicts US uninsured to grow to 52 million by the end of next year A study published today predicts that due to rising health care costs, by the end of 2010 another 6.9 million Americans will be uninsured, bringing the rate to 19.2%. For every 1% increase in health costs relative to income, another…

Read More

New Kaiser website tracks national health reform developments

Kaiser’s new Health Reform site helps track the sometimes confusing national health reform picture. It organizes resources from across their site including policy papers, polls, history and a calendar. My favorite feature allows you to compare the various versions being considered on key characteristics including an individual mandate, employer requirement and expansion of public programs.…

Read More

NY medical home provides impressive, efficient care

Yesterday I visited the Queens-Long Island Medical Group office in Flushing, NY. The office is the first NCQA-accredited patient centered medical home in the US. Flushing is a colorful, bustling community; 70% of community residents are Asian. Despite the swine flu outbreak, the office was quiet and calm as it was on my first visit…

Read More

Dodd/DeLauro health reform event

Saturday Sen. Dodd and Rep. DeLauro hosted a well-attended town hall discussion on national health care reform at Griffin Hospital in Derby. Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform, was the invited speaker. It was good theater, but there was little concrete information about what they are considering, how it might…

Read More

White House reform chief coming to CT

Senator Dodd and Congresswoman DeLauro will host a visit from Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. The visit, part of Sen. Dodd’s town hall meetings on health care, will be at 11:30 this Saturday morning, May 16th in the cafeteria at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division Street, Derby. Sen. Dodd is…

Read More

Legislative briefing on health care reform

A special briefing on health care, “Health Care Reform: Opportunities for New Directions”, was held yesterday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Spectators almost filled the room. Speakers included Congressman Christopher Murphy, 5th District; Joy Johnson Wilson, Health Policy Director for the National Conference of State Legislators; and Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Vice President of State…

Read More