healthcare markets
State health care pooling plan growing slowly
The Comptroller’s Office announced this week that the CT Partnership Plan, allowing municipalities and other non-state governments to buy into the state employee plan, has 2,415 members from eight municipal entities at the end of a year saving between 1 and 36% on health benefits. While enrollment has lagged behind expectations, it is growing. Comptroller…
Read MoreGovernor vetoes bill allowing for-profits into medical foundations
Yesterday the Governor vetoed SB-992, a bill that would have allowed for-profit entities to join medical foundations to provide health services. The bill language was added to a different bill in the last hours of the legislative session. The bill resulted from lobbying by Waterbury Hospital and the for-profit Vanguard Health Systems from Tennessee…
Read MoreECHN seeks to join growing list of CT hospitals merging and converting to for-profit
The Hartford Business Journal is reporting that ECHN, parent of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals, is close to selling to Vanguard Health Systems, Inc., a for-profit chain based in Nashville. ECHN made $3.7 million margin (profit) in 2012. The article reports that Bristol and Waterbury hospitals are also in discussion with Vanguard. This…
Read MoreInsurance executives salaries excessive
The CEO of Wellpoint, owner of Anthem, was the highest paid insurance executive last year at $20.6 million according to an analysis by C-HIT. Despite complaints about ACA and Wall Street regulations, salaries for the top five executives at the five largest insurers ranged from $21 to $47 million. Health care executives are the…
Read MoreCT’s All Payer Claims Database – an important opportunity, if we do it right
A new report for the CT Health Foundation outlines CT’s progress and future options toward developing an All-Payer Claims Database (APCD). Putting all health care claims in the state across providers, payers and regions in one place would allow better health resource planning, identification of hotspots of high utilization, develop targeted solutions, improve patient safety…
Read More6 of 14 state exchanges actively purchasing coverage – but not CT
A new update on health insurance exchanges by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that six states – CA, MA, NY, OR, RI and VT – of the 14 that have made a decision, intend to actively purchase coverage. Those six exchanges will be negotiating with insurers to get the best value for consumers in their…
Read MoreTime cover article focuses on health care prices, including two CT hospitals
Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills are Killing Us?, Time magazine’s latest cover story, is a fascinating look into medical prices – why they are so expensive and so unequal. The article includes a deep dive into several cases including Janice S at Stamford Hospital, and Emilia Gilbert from Bridgeport, part of the Yale New Haven…
Read MoreFebruary webquiz — CT hospital finances
Test your knowledge of CT hospital finances. Take the February CT Health Policy Quiz.
Read More31 Ways to Save Money in CT’s Health Care Budget
The state budget is facing a billion deficit next fiscal year. We have 31 ways to both save money and improve quality and access to care. The options focus on payment reform, re-engineering care delivery, engaging consumers, quality reforms and prevention, learning from experience, removing waste and excessive administration. In 2010 we only had fifteen…
Read MoreJoint exchange committees voting down active purchasing, cost control
While the votes are reportedly still coming in, it appears that the Consumer and QHP Insurance Exchange committees have voted against active purchasing. With active purchasing, other state exchanges are using the power of numbers, as large employers do, to negotiate better premiums, lower costs and better coverage for their members. MA has saved millions…
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