hospitals
Book Club: The Premonition — A Pandemic Story
Michael Lewis’s latest book, The Premonition – A Pandemic Story, dives deep into an untold story of how COVID crept up on the US healthcare system, particularly the state and federal agencies that were supposed to be watching and to know what to do. It’s a story of bureaucrats playing it safe while sacrificing our…
Read MorePolicy options to control healthcare prices and protect from private equity
Healthcare service prices are the main driver of Connecticut’s rising health insurance premiums. The consolidation of hospitals and providers into large health systems has stifled competition, allowing prices to rise unchecked. Other states have taken action to protect competition in consolidated markets and it’s working. Connecticut needs to act. Private equity funds are buying critical…
Read MoreCTNJ OP-ED | Connecticut’s Healthcare Market Regulation is Broken
Connecticut’s healthcare markets are consolidating at a serious clip and it’s endangering access to care and driving up healthcare prices that make care unaffordable. Unfortunately, the state agency that is supposed to keep Connecticut’s healthcare market competitive isn’t acting. They have the tools – Connecticut has among the most protective laws in the nation. But…
Read MoreNew Cost Cap industry-driven committee gets going
Members of the Office of Health Strategy’s (OHS) latest committee to drive down the growth in Connecticut’s healthcare spending moved past their initial reluctance to engage in their November and December meetings. OHS expects the provider and insurer-dominated committee to agree on ways to reduce their own costs/profits. Hopefully, they do not also use the…
Read MoreFAQs on OHS’s Primary Care Roadmap
Download the FAQs here Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy has developed a Primary Care Roadmap to support primary care in Connecticut. OHS is accepting public comment on the draft Roadmap until the close of business Friday, January 14th. To send comments, email Tina.Hyde@ct.gov and put “Primary Care Roadmap” in the subject line. You should get…
Read MorePublic 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…
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