HUSKY
PCMH+ update – DSS still plowing ahead despite lack of monitoring or evaluation
Despite DSS’s declaration that Wave 1 of PCMH Plus is a “substantial success”, there was nothing meaningful to support that view at MAPOC’s Care Management Committee meeting last week. Lacking information, DSS has rushed ahead anyway to significantly expand the program by 174%, raising enrollment from 66,325 to 181,902 this month. PCMH Plus is DSS’s…
Read MoreCTNJ: Healthcare questions for Connecticut’s Next Governor
How will Connecticut’s next governor fix the state’s healthcare system? It’s a big job but they will have a lot more leverage and power than many appreciate. Read more
Read MoreUpdated data from DSS call center – wait times are 107 and 105 minutes, not 2 minutes
In response to a Freedom of Information request, advocates learned last week that 56% of callers waiting to talk to a human at DSS’s benefits center chose to hang up in both March and April of this year. That’s probably because average wait times for the benefits center were 107 and 105 minutes, in March…
Read MoreACA Medicaid expansion benefits to CT include fewer uninsured, lower ED use, access to behavioral healthcare
A new analysis by the CT Health Foundation outlines the “unqualified success” of CT’s HUSKY expansion. In 2010 CT was the first state to exercise the Affordable Care Act option to expand Medicaid to low income, childless adults, labelling the new population HUSKY Part D. The expansion was largely responsible for cutting CT’s uninsured rate…
Read MoreMedicaid missing data concerns
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on concerns with Veyo, the state’s new transportation contractor, and DSS operations performance, especially ongoing call center problems. Unfortunately, we are getting even less data than in the past. Veyo’s presentation did little to counter the landslide of complaints from consumers and providers about the transportation system and missing data…
Read MoreWorking parents can keep HUSKY coverage
The consensus state budget passed late yesterday includes full restoration of eligibility for current HUSKY parents. Over 13,000 working parents with incomes up to 155% of the federal poverty level ($32,209 this year) will keep coverage under the HUSKY program. Also in the budget is funding to cover out-of-pocket health costs for low income seniors…
Read MoreCalls needed to save healthcare for 13,000 working parents
Unless legislators act soon, 13,000 working parents will lose HUSKY coverage this coming January 1st. Sally Grossman, one of those parents with two small children, runs her own house painting business. According to Sally, “Every year I do a little better. But if I earn over $28,000, I lose my health insurance.” Click here for…
Read MoreSmart CT Medicaid smoking cessation coverage
A new CDC analysis finds that CT’s Medicaid program is among the most progressive in covering smoking cessation treatments. Medicaid members are twice as likely to smoke as other Americans. Smoking-related treatment costs US Medicaid programs about $39 billion annually, so effective tools to quit are a smart investment for states. Despite improvements, most states’…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Connecticut should be careful building a public insurance option through Medicaid
Health insurance is too expensive in Connecticut and it may get worse with troubling new federal policies. But one proposed state solution isn’t as simple as it sounds. Read more
Read MoreCTNJ: Advocates must inform consumers of risks when the state won’t
This week, independent advocates launched PCMHPlusFacts.org, a campaign to give HUSKY members balanced information about an experimental, new payment model expanding across the program. PCMH Plus has risks for consumers along with possible benefits, but HUSKY members aren’t aware of them or that they have the right to opt-out of the new payment model. Read more
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