Medicaid transportation gets a closer look

For the second month in a row, MAPOC focused in on the Medicaid transportation contractor’s performance Friday. Questions about Veyo, the contractor, have persisted since they were chosen by DSS. There were more questions than answers at Friday’s meeting, including what terms mean in the report. The number of rides the state is getting for…

Read More

Connecticut’s uninsured rate stabilizes, retaining ACA gains

Download the report New numbers from the US Census Bureau report that 187,000 or 5.3% of Connecticut residents were uninsured last year. That number is down slightly from the year before when the uninsured rate was 5.5%, but above 2016’s rate at 4.9%. The new data continues the trend of fewer uninsured that began with…

Read More

CT Medicaid child checkup rates jumped when HMOs were fired

Well-child screenings increased twelve percent for HUSKY children between FY 2001 and FY 2012, according to a new report from the Government Accounting Office. While correlation is not causation, it is important to note that on January 1, 2012 Connecticut Medicaid payment shifted from capitation through private managed care companies to our current managed fee-for-service…

Read More

CTNJ: CT Medicaid is making the same mistake, again

Despite warnings, the state is about to make a big mistake, again. DSS is planning to renew PCMH Plus, their risky Medicaid experiment that has cost the state more and done nothing to improve care, jeopardizing hard-earned progress. Two years ago, when the state wanted to expand PCMH Plus the first time, advocates raised alarms…

Read More

CTNJ: A recession is coming and it could hit Connecticut healthcare hard

While President Trump disagrees, a recent survey found that three in four economists expect the US economy to enter a recession by 2021. Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle – it’s not a question of whether it will happen, but when. The last recession, in 2008, hit Connecticut especially hard, and in…

Read More

State approves controversial New Haven primary care move

Friday, the state Office of Health Strategy gave final approval Yale-New Haven’s application to move primary care for over 25,000 low income consumers out of neighborhoods and shift them to the Cornell Scott and Fairhaven health centers for payment purposes. Under the final agreement patients would still be cared for by the same YNHH primary…

Read More

PCMH + risk scores suggest possible gaming or worse; Advocates call on DSS to delay expansion to protect members and taxpayers

A new analysis of PCMH + members’ risk scores finds unexplained increases compared to the control/comparison group that could signal ACO gaming of the system for financial gain and/or, far worse, a decline in the health of members in the program. PCMH Plus, a controversial new payment model, allows ACO (large health systems) to share…

Read More

Join us: CT affordable housing conference features health/housing connection

Join us at Housing 2019, the 30th annual CT conference on affordable housing, to hear about collaborations in CT between housing and community health programs that are improving both. The conference is sponsored by the Affordable Housing Alliance of CT (formerly the CT Housing Coalition). At “Health and Housing: Learning from Each Other”, attendees will…

Read More

Coincidence? CT spends little on primary care, and we have high ED, preventable hospitalization rates

A new analysis finds that Connecticut, at only 3.5% of our health care dollars spent on primary care, is last among 29 states studied. Not surprisingly, we also rank among the highest in ED visits, all hospitalizations, and in avoidable hospitalizations. The US average is 5.6% of health care spending devoted to primary care, well…

Read More