healthcare markets
Anthem keeps lion’s share of CT insurance market
The best-kept secret in CT healthcare – the Insurance Department’s Consumer Report Card on Managed Care Plans – is out again this year covering 2017. Once again, Anthem has the lion’s share of the market at 46%. ConnectiCare lost almost 55,000 members between 2016 and 2017. About two out of three insured people in Connecticut…
Read MoreCTNJ: Capitation vs. fee for service: Which team are you on?
is a sharp divide within Connecticut’s healthcare community over how to pay for care that’s as fervent as the Yankees vs. Red Sox split. Some believe that capitation is the holy grail, but others believe that fee for service isn’t the problem and isn’t broken. Read more
Read MoreConnecticut Medicare ACOs overspent by $45 million in 2016
Data from CMS show that in 2016 Connecticut’s Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) together spent $45 million more on care for Medicare beneficiaries above risk-adjusted benchmark spending levels. ACOs are networks of providers across the continuum that coordinate care for people and receive a share of the savings they generate. All of Connecticut’s Medicare ACOs only…
Read MoreTwo thirds of CT residents prioritize healthcare for their vote
The newest survey by InformCT found that 63% of state residents cited healthcare as the leading issue in their vote for CT’s next Governor. In Congressional races, healthcare was cited as the most important by 67% and by 65% for choosing between state House and Senate candidates. Healthcare was cited at virtually the same priority…
Read More31 ways to save on healthcare in Connecticut’s budget
Connecticut’s state budget is facing future deficits and health spending is a large share of the budget. The state now spends $3.8 billion between Medicaid and the state employee health plan to cover about a million state residents. Health care spending outside the state budget is also growing. Connecticut has the sixth highest per capita…
Read MoreCTNJ: Healthcare questions for Connecticut’s Next Governor
How will Connecticut’s next governor fix the state’s healthcare system? It’s a big job but they will have a lot more leverage and power than many appreciate. Read more
Read MoreCT News Junkie: What does it take to stop repeating a bad idea?
Albert Einstein believed the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Unfortunately, Connecticut policymakers haven’t learned this lesson. Provider financial risk is a bad idea that has failed both in our state and nationally. Read more
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Connecticut should be careful building a public insurance option through Medicaid
Health insurance is too expensive in Connecticut and it may get worse with troubling new federal policies. But one proposed state solution isn’t as simple as it sounds. Read more
Read MoreCT exchange premiums up this year, but similar to other states and still too high
There have been national reports of extreme increases for this year in health insurance exchange premiums, largely due to Trump administration policies. Not surprisingly, a new analysis by the Urban Institute for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that states with more competition among insurers and more options for consumers have the lowest premiums. Connecticut’s…
Read MoreNew Hartford HealthCare-Tufts insurance company raises concerns
Wednesday, Hartford HealthCare and Tufts Health Plan announced the formation of a new, jointly-owned insurer, CarePartners of Connecticut, to sell Medicare Advantage plans to Connecticut residents for next year, pending CMS approval. Hartford HealthCare includes thousands of providers in home health care, rehab services, long term care, behavioral healthcare, and five hospitals, to date. In…
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