healthcare markets
April Health Affairs features CT state employee VBID plan results
An evaluation of CT’s state employee Health Enhancement Program (HEP) published in Health Affairs found improved access to primary care, reductions in ED use, but has not produced savings. HEP is an early adopter of the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model, linking consumer costs to the value of care. Implemented in 2011, HEP encourages preventive…
Read MoreCON taskforce members appointed
Governor Malloy has announced the appointmentsto the Certificate of Need Taskforce. The taskforce was created in a February Executive Order halting mergers and takeovers of large hospital systems for one year to allow a review of CON rules and process. Consolidation in Connecticut’s hospital market has raisedsignificant concerns about the lack of competition, rising prices…
Read MoreCT remains costly for Long Term Services and Supports while demand grows
A new survey by Genworth Financial finds that costs for Long Term Services and Support in Connecticut are among the highest in the nation, and rising. At $146,000 for a semi-private room and $158,775 for a private room, median annual costs of nursing home care were more expensive in Connecticut last year than any other…
Read MoreSurvey of CT ACOs – early yet, good intentions but uncertain future
Together with the Hartford Business Journal, the CT Health Policy Project conducted the first survey of CT ACOs finding some unexpected findings. ACOs are networks of providers across the continuum that coordinate high-quality care for people and receive a share of the savings they generate. ACOs are a foundation for efforts to reform health care…
Read MoreCT Health Reform update – hospital consolidation delay allows breathing room but weak SIM proposal for Medicaid is troubling
The Governor’s Executive Order to delay approvals of large hospital consolidations leads the CT Health Reform Dashboardupdates this month. $185 million savings in the state’s share of Medicaid spending last year also leads the news. Medicaid redesign planning is still on track, working collaboratively with all voices at the table. However that good news was…
Read MoreGovernor orders delay, time to study CON approvals for massive hospital mergers
Yesterday Governor Malloy issued an Executive Order halting state Certificate of Need approvals for hospital mergers that would cover more than 20% of total CT hospital spending until Jan. 15, 2017. The delay will allow for a “fair and through” review of the CON process by a new taskforce. Concerns about the current CON process…
Read MoreFascinating Health Care Cabinet meeting on hospital markets, concentration, costs and the magic of VT
This week’s Health Care Cabinet meeting was fascinating. We first heard about the impact of hospital consolidations in CT. We heard a moving story about a Spanish-speaking woman suffering a mild stroke who had to be airlifted from Windham to Hartford because since Hartford Hospital’s acquisition of Windham Hospital, there is no longer a neurologist…
Read MoreFebruary web quiz: costs on CT’s health insurance exchange
Test your knowledge about costs of plans and MLRs on CT’s health insurance exchange. Take the February CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreHealth care not immune from gender wage gap, but the size depends on your job
American women workers make 82.5 cents for every dollar men do, according to 2014 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However that ratio varies considerably by industry from 91.3 in construction to 56.7 cents in legal positions. In health care support positions, women so better than average American women but still 87.9% of…
Read MoreHartford Business Journal 2016 economic outlook including health care
The Hartford Business Journal is looking ahead to next year for trends, predictions and stories to watch in CT’s economy. Health care contributors included Matt Katz of the CT State Medical Society, Elliot Joseph of Hartford Healthcare, John O’Connell of the CM Smith Agency and Ellen Andrews of the CT Health Policy Project. Trends included…
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