hospitals
Public comment concerns with CT’s primary care plan
Read the public comments Public comment concerns with CT’s primary care plan Today, the CT Health Policy Project submitted public comments with serious concerns about the Office of Health Strategy’s plans to overhaul primary care across the state. The Project has worked for decades to improve access to high quality, affordable care for every Connecticut…
Read MoreOHS primary care committee sharply critical of agency’s plan
In this month’s meeting of the Office of Health Strategy’s Primary Care Subgroup, patient and consumer advocates joined insurers raising very strong concerns about OHS’s plans and capacity to implement the agency’s plan for primary care in Connecticut. OHS plans to double the share of Connecticut’s healthcare spending on primary care while tightly restricting growth…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed – The Brainard Fund still making a difference after 64 years
In 2010, I got a call that advocates only dream about. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving had a dedicated fund to pay medical bills for Hartford area residents who couldn’t afford them, and they wanted my help directing the money to people most in need. The good news is that the Brainard Fund still…
Read MoreResponse to OHS primary care capitation defense
Today, the CT Health Policy Project responded to a letter from the Office of Health Strategy regarding concerns from 25 independent consumer advocates, providers, and organizations. OHS’s response to our offer to work together to improve the health of every Connecticut resident is very welcome. In that spirit, the letter clarifies a few misunderstandings of…
Read MoreNew Cost Cap Steering Committee is industry-driven
The first meeting of the new Steering Committee to guide the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS) plan to cap healthcare cost growth was uncharacteristically quiet. The meeting started with public comment from the Universal Healthcare Foundation of CT that the committee membership is “not balanced”, includes mainly members with “deep vested business interests”, and lacks…
Read MoreCT ranks 15th among states in healthcare affordability, but that’s not saying much
Connecticut has implemented many policies to make healthcare affordable; unfortunately, they aren’t working. According to Altarum’s new Healthcare Affordability State Policy Scorecard, Connecticut earned 43.1 out of 80 possible points. There is a lot of room for improvement. Altarum ranked states on adoption of policies that can impact affordability and on outcomes, whether care is…
Read MoreCT Healthcare employment is slowly rebounding, except for nursing homes
Download the report Like other Connecticut workers, healthcare employment was hit hard by the pandemic in March 2020, according to data from the CT Department of Labor. Since then, hospital employment has partially rebounded but not in nursing and residential facilities. At its start, the COVID pandemic sharply increased demand in a few healthcare sectors…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Patient-centered or doctor-centered? Primary care planning is off track
Several state agencies and their committees are planning to expand primary care in Connecticut – that’s a good thing. But it’s being driven by primary care doctors and their needs rather than patients. Read more
Read MoreConnecticut hospital systems vary in reducing low-value care
A new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine on low-value care provided to Medicare beneficiaries at the health system level offers actionable tools to improve effective care on the ground. Healthcare services that provide little or no health benefit, may harm patients, increase costs, and waste resources are low-value. Examples include prostate specific antigen testing…
Read MoreOnly one CT hospital makes social responsibility honor roll
Among Connecticut hospitals, only William Backus received A’s on health equity, the value of care, and health outcomes, according to the latest Lown Institute Hospital Social Responsibility Index. Backus ranked #71 among US hospitals overall. The Index scores over 3,000 US hospitals on their performance in responsibility to their community. Seventy-five US hospitals, including Backus,…
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