Health Reform
Oregon holds lottery – not for millions, but for health care coverage
From the Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities blog, for the first time in four years, there are openings in the Oregon Health Plan Standard. The state program covers the basics including medical services, medications, and limited dental and vision services. OHP Standard is offered at little or no cost to very low income residents…
Read MoreCT Health Notes highlights
Some highlights from the latest issue of CT Health Notes — the CT Health Policy Project’s e-newsletter: Access to kidney disease treatment and transplants varies by race and insurance status Hispanics’ and African-Americans’ health insurance less secure Privately insured Americans get earlier cancer diagnoses Geographic variation in health care spending Click here for more on…
Read MoreHealth First Authority update and callers to the helpline
Yesterday, I was in a meeting of the Cost, Cost Containment, and Finance sub-group of the HealthFirst Connecticut Authority. The conversation focused on cost containment strategies in three different contexts. In some cases, wellness programs were credited with playing a role – albeit a vague role – in reducing costs. These are the programs sometimes…
Read MoreAdministration opposition to HB-5617, Charter Oak fix bill
Testimony from Governor Rell, DSS Commissioner Starkowski, OHCA Commissioner Vogel, OPM Secretary Genuario, and DPH Commissioner Galvin in the Human Services Committee’s public hearing Tuesday strongly opposed any changes to their plans for Charter Oak. Attorney General Blumenthal, State Health Care Advocate Lembo and fourteen consumers and advocates, including this one, testified in favor of…
Read MorePrimary Care Access Authority Update
Adequate behavioral health services are vital to ensuring that Connecticut’s primary care infrastructure will work well for all our residents. This was the focus of yesterday’s Primary Care Access Authority meeting in Hartford. The session outlined some of the behavioral health services currently available in our state and showed the impact of healthcare staffing recruitment…
Read MoreBills we are following
HB-5617, AA Delaying Implementation of and Making Revisions to the Charter Oak Plan and HB-5618, AAC Revisions to the HUSKY Plan, have been raised by the Human Services Committee. The public hearing for both is next Tuesday, February 26th at 10am in Room 2A of the LOB. Ellen Andrews
Read MoreCMS wants to give states more Medicaid flexibility
Yesterday, CMS published proposed rules allowing state Medicaid programs more flexibility in program design, similar to SCHIP programs. The change is meant to “implement the Administration’s goals of aligning Medicaid more closely with private market insurance and giving states more control over their Medicaid benefit packages.” If approved the rules would allow states to reduce…
Read MoreGeographic Variation in Health Care Spending
In a recent report, the Congressional Budget Office found that Medicare spending varies significantly by geographic region, even after controlling for differences in demographics, treatment preferences, and regional prices of medical services. The authors cite three possible reasons for the residual geographic variation in Medicare spending: (1) disagreement among medical professionals regarding the appropriateness of…
Read MoreTwo studies question cost effectiveness of prevention and treatment
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine challenges the dogma that prevention always pays. This is especially important within the current presidential political environment with candidates promoting prevention as a way to stop skyrocketing health care costs. The authors note that many preventive measures do save money such as flu vaccines for…
Read MorePolicymaker Issue Brief No. 43 – 2008 Upcoming Health Issues for Connecticut
CT will face some important health policy issues this year including HUSKY, Medicaid, Charter Oak and Covering the Uninsured. For a summary, go to the CT Health Policy Project’s Issue Brief — 2008 Upcoming Health Issues for CT Posted by Ellen Andrews
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