healthcare costs
New tool to compare CT healthcare prices
Medcompare collects publicly available hospital price transparency data and converts it into a searchable format. The site compares US cash/self-pay hospital prices for 8,967 procedures in 31 categories across 29 hospitals in Connecticut. Prices for the same service vary significantly between Connecticut hospitals. Uninsured and self-pay patients can save hundreds to thousands of dollars by…
Read MoreFact Check: No correlation between CT hospital Medicaid share and profits
Download the data Connecticut hospitals have asserted that state Medicaid payment rates undermine hospital margins and force higher private plan rates. But the evidence doesn’t support the first assertion and is mixed on the second. As in most states, Connecticut Medicaid hospital payment rates are lower than rates that commercial plans pay. It’s important to…
Read MoreNew tool finds CT employer health insurance costs 8th highest in US
A new Health Cost Landscape data tool finds that Connecticut residents spend 15% more than the national average on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. Only seven states cost more. But because of higher average incomes, the burden of healthcare costs is lower here than for most Americans. High prices are the main force driving up Connecticut…
Read MoreAnalysis finds CT hospitals more efficient than most in US
A new study from the Lown Institute finds all but two Connecticut hospitals are more efficient than the median US hospital within 30 or 90 days after admission. However, no Connecticut hospitals are in the top 10 most efficient in the nation and there is significant variation between Connecticut hospitals. Greenwich and Bridgeport Hospitals are…
Read MoreCT Medicaid admin costs are 5th lowest in the nation, but CT fully insured plans are the 5th highest
Connecticut Medicaid spent $467 less per person in 2023 on administration and corporate profit than all most states, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. However, state residents in fully-insured health plans spent $412 more for administration and profit than most Americans, according to the authors from Brown University. In fully insured plans,…
Read MoreStudy finds federal Medicaid cuts will drop 114,300 people and cost $8.3 billion in CT
A new study by RAND researchers details the likely Medicaid impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill (HR-1) by state. Connecticut stands to lose $8.3 billion in Medicaid funding, and 114,300 state residents will lose coverage. The report parses the impact by each provision of HR-1 over the next ten years. Nationally, 7.6 million Americans…
Read MoreAnalysis: A Bad Deal for Connecticut Just Got Worse
In 2024 Connecticut signed up for AHEAD, a problematic health reform plan promoted by the Biden administration to start in January 2028. Very few people in Connecticut have heard of it, including many people who work in healthcare, but it will have a massive impact on our state’s health. Read more
Read MoreUpdated: HUSKY and work requirements – How to make it work
Download the update with revisions highlighted Download a clean version We’ve updated our paper with recommendations for implementing federal changes and cuts to Medicaid that becomes effective January 1st of next year. It’s expected that 137,000 Connecticut residents will lose coverage and our state will lose $118 billion over the next ten years as a…
Read MoreCTNJ: Advice to CT’s next Medicaid Director
Welcome. You’re taking on a big job at a difficult time. Your program covers healthcare for one in five state residents and is about a quarter of the state budget. But we’re in a very good place and you’ll have lots of help. The good news first. Read more
Read MoreReference pricing lowers healthcare prices, could save CT millions
Download the backgrounder Hospital prices are driving up healthcare costs making coverage unaffordable, in Connecticut and across the US. It’s hard to reduce hospital prices, especially in consolidated markets like Connecticut’s, where huge health systems have monopoly power to demand steep prices. But Oregon and Montana have been saving millions annually on just their state…
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