Health Report Card
Sign up for daily tips on the Art and Craft of Advocacy
You want to make a difference, but advocacy can be confusing, frustrating, and time-consuming. We can help. Sign up for Today’s Advocacy Tool – a month of inspiration, tips, and practical tools. Every weekday for a month, we’ll send an email with insight, best practices, and lessons we’ve learned from the updated CT Health Advocacy…
Read MoreHealth equity state scorecard finds CT compares well, but needs improvement
Connecticut ranks fifth best among states on overall health equity according to the Commonwealth Fund’s latest state scorecard, but every state has a lot of room for improvement. While whites in Connecticut scored in the 97th percentile for health system performance nationally, Latinx/Hispanic state residents scored at the 68th percentile, and Blacks in Connecticut scored…
Read MoreCT ranks 15th among states in healthcare affordability, but that’s not saying much
Connecticut has implemented many policies to make healthcare affordable; unfortunately, they aren’t working. According to Altarum’s new Healthcare Affordability State Policy Scorecard, Connecticut earned 43.1 out of 80 possible points. There is a lot of room for improvement. Altarum ranked states on adoption of policies that can impact affordability and on outcomes, whether care is…
Read MoreConnecticut hospital systems vary in reducing low-value care
A new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine on low-value care provided to Medicare beneficiaries at the health system level offers actionable tools to improve effective care on the ground. Healthcare services that provide little or no health benefit, may harm patients, increase costs, and waste resources are low-value. Examples include prostate specific antigen testing…
Read MoreOnly one CT hospital makes social responsibility honor roll
Among Connecticut hospitals, only William Backus received A’s on health equity, the value of care, and health outcomes, according to the latest Lown Institute Hospital Social Responsibility Index. Backus ranked #71 among US hospitals overall. The Index scores over 3,000 US hospitals on their performance in responsibility to their community. Seventy-five US hospitals, including Backus,…
Read MoreNew healthy aging data report finds CT growing older in every community
Connecticut is the 7th oldest state in the country, according to a new analysis by UConn Boston and Tufts Health Plan Foundation, with 23% of state residents over age 60. The challenges of aging are not evenly spread across the state. Visit the site to see how seniors in your town/city compare to the state…
Read MoreGood and bad Medicaid PCMH, PCMH Plus updates
At today’s MAPOC Care Management Committee, we learned that Medicaid’s successful Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program is growing and keeping up with higher enrollment due to COVID. In disappointing news, we also learned that the controversial PCMH Plus program has fewer care managers than expected and only 36% of ACO member advisory committees have any…
Read MoreVery helpful data Roadmap to promote health equity in CT
While residents of Connecticut’s minority communities face significant disparities in health outcomes compared to white state residents, there has been no consistency or standardization of Race, Ethnicity and Language (REL) data collection. A new state law requires, among other things, that providers and state entities collect REL data using standard categories. A new report from…
Read MoreCT ‘deaths of despair’ high and rising faster than other states
In 2019 per capita, Connecticut had 19% more deaths due to alcohol, drugs or suicide and these deaths of despair increased over four times faster than the US average, according to a new report from the Trust for America’s Health. Connecticut’s rates of drug-induced deaths were largely responsible at 58% higher than the US average.…
Read MoreCT’s well-being is improving, even during the pandemic
Connecticut ranked seventh among states in overall health and well-being last year, according to the latest Community Well-Being Index from the BU School of Public Health. According to the Index, “well-being is about the interaction between physical health, finding your daily work and experiences fulfilling, having strong social relationships and access to the resources you…
Read More