Analysis: Healthcare defies softening labor market

The post-COVID hot labor market is cooling in Connecticut and across the US. While some industries are still seeking qualified workers, others are fully employed or even laying people off. But healthcare hiring is still scorching hot, with no end in sight. It’s increased demand for care but also the stresses of the job. Read…

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CT health systems ranked poorly by their nurses

Connecticut health systems underperform in an analysis of nurses’ satisfaction with their employers by MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Only four health systems covering Connecticut had enough data to be included in the study – Hartford Healthcare, Yale-New Haven Health, Trinity, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Nurses working at Yale-New Haven and…

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Speaker Series #4 — Healthcare for people with developmental disabilities — Reports from other states

Following up on the first webinars  on healthcare access for people with developmental disabilities, the fourth webinar in the Fall Series will focus on Reports From Other States including Colorado, Maine, and Rhode Island. It will be Tuesday, October 31st. The Fall speaker series is sponsored by the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities and UCEDD.…

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Healthcare for CT residents with developmental disabilities — Webinar #3

Following up on the first webinars  on healthcare access for people with developmental disabilities, the third webinar in the Fall Series will focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access to Healthcare. It will be Tuesday, October 17th. The Fall speaker series is sponsored by the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities and UCEDD. Register here for…

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CT Healthcare Explained — what’s next?

Hopefully, you’ve found our short Sunday Health Policy Minute emails informative and helpful. This is just the beginning of CT Healthcare Explained’s efforts to help make sense of our state’s unreasonably complex system. Hopefully, you’ve accessed the site resources including explainer videos, Basics, and Deeper Dives on the current seventeen topics. Consumers, policymakers, clinicians, students,…

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Analysis: Bristol Hospital VP Says Unfair Practices Are Leading to a Nurse Shortage For Independent Hospitals

Healthcare is expensive in Connecticut. The shortage of nurses is a prime driver of those rising costs. Nursing is hard and dangerous work. While the state is working to lower healthcare costs across Connecticut, another state entity is driving up private nursing costs. Read more

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Summer reading — Rough Sleepers

I thought I understood healthcare for the homeless, but I had a lot to learn. Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People describes Boston’s Healthcare for the Homeless Program by following Dr. Jim O’Connell’s career of caring for people who live, and sleep, on the streets. He ended up…

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Analysis: Connecticut is doing something about healthcare costs, finally

I’ve long been a critic of our state’s inaction on controlling healthcare costs, but I may have to eat my words. On Wednesday, Connecticut policymakers took a big step toward controlling the two biggest drivers of rising healthcare costs – hospital and prescription drug prices. Read more

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Op-Ed: This Is Why CT Can’t Lower Healthcare Costs

After years of deliberation, Connecticut’s state plan to cap healthcare costs has finally identified the drivers of those costs in our state. But the Steering Committee, dominated by healthcare industries, still isn’t brave enough hold the overspenders accountable. They want the profitable industries to come up with ideas to lower their own costs (what could…

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