hospitals
CT healthcare costs grew faster than ever in 2023, but Medicaid bucked the trend
Download the analysis updated 7/22/2025 This month, the Office of Health Strategy (OHS) released their three annual Healthcare Benchmark reports. The main event, the Cost Growth Benchmark report finds that healthcare costs rose by 7.8% in 2023, well above the 2.9% benchmark set by an old OHS committee based on economic indicators. This is the…
Read MoreHUSKY still very efficient but drugs are driving up costs
Read the full report Like other states, Connecticut Medicaid per member costs are beginning to increase after dropping during COVID. However, Connecticut’s rate trend remains better than other states. Since switching from managed care organizations in 2012 to focus on care management, Connecticut Medicaid spending stabilized while enrollment expanded significantly, according to the state’s latest…
Read MoreDSS’s comprehensive HUSKY report finds a very strong program, with plans to improve
In response to 2023 legislation, on Tuesday DSS provided a 72-page comprehensive description and analysis of Connecticut’s Medicaid program to MAPOC, the program’s oversight council. The report also includes DSS’s strategy to improve the program and members’ health. The report finds that the program’s performance is very strong. “Overall, the Medicaid program achieves good quality…
Read MoreAnalysis: Hartford HealthCare Settlement with St. Francis Still Leaves Two Important Class Action Suits Active
CT News Junkie reports that St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center has reached a settlement with Hartford HealthCare in their lawsuit alleging unfair business practices. It’s good that St. Francis’s complaints as a competitor have been addressed, but the concerns of consumers and payers are still outstanding in two class action lawsuits against Hartford HealthCare.…
Read MoreAnalysis: Despite the name, value is not the solution for raging healthcare costs
The murder of a United health executive has intensified very strong reactions to America’s broken healthcare system. Unfortunately, too many opportunists are using this tragedy to push a tired, failed agenda – value-based care and its corollary, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Read more
Read MoreMore questions and answers on DSS’s plan for HUSKY maternity bundles
Read the new questions and answers DSS is planning to move Medicaid payments for maternity services from the current fee-for-service arrangement to a per-person bundled payment. They will also expand services to include doula and lactation supports. However, advocates have asked questions and raised concerns about unintended consequences when providers make more money by reducing…
Read MoreFormer Medicaid Official shares troubled MCO history
Download the comments In comments to DSS for their landscape study, former Medicaid official Steve Colangelo warns against returning the program to MCOs. He worked in the program before and after the MCOs left in 2012. He outlines the problems that plagued the program and DSS staff under the MCO model. He details how the…
Read MoreHUSKY maternal health bundle questions 2.0
Based on DSS’s MAPOC presentation Friday on plans for maternity bundled payments, the CT Health Policy Project submitted some questions about the plan. The commendable goals of the plan are to improve health outcomes, equity, quality, and access to care while controlling costs through care management and greater efficiency. DSS plans to pay obstetrics practices…
Read MoreNew report quantifies CT nurse training – Growing, but we still need more
In 2022, Connecticut schools of nursing were at or near enrollment capacity, according to the latest analysis by the CT Center for Nursing Workforce and the CT Data Collaborative. This is a good thing, because we need more nurses. At 79,822 RNs in Connecticut, nurses are by far the largest class of healthcare workers in…
Read MoreAnalysis: The uninsured are still with us
September used to be a key month for policy wonks. We all eagerly awaited new Census numbers of the uninsured. But since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is less attention to the uninsured. There is a sense that we are past the problem of people without coverage. But the latest Census numbers…
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