CT Medicaid ACOs announced

Provider networks authorized to negotiate for participation in PCMH+ (formerly MQISSP), CT Medicaid’s new shared savings program, have been announced. The winners are: Northeast Medical Group, St. Vincent’s Medical Group, Community Health Center, Inc., Cornell Scott-Hill Health Corporation, Fair Haven Community Health Clinic, Inc., Southwest Community Health Center, Generations Family Health Center, Inc., OPTIMUS Health…

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Medicaid update – HUSKY parents’ fate, access monitoring plan, eligibility systems update and first look at Medicaid impact of controversial Health Care Cabinet proposal

This month’s Medicaid Council meeting began with ongoing concerns about what happened to HUSKY parents cut off the program at the end of July. There were lots of numbers but of the original 18,903 slated for the cut in last year’s budget at least 7,713 were lost to HUSKY or AccessHealthCT coverage. Almost 4,000 more…

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Twenty-six advocates support DSS decision to evaluate Medicaid reform

Wednesday 26 independent consumer advocates wrote the Lieutenant Governor supporting DSS’s decision to evaluate outcomes after the first wave of 200,000+ members into the new Medicaid shared savings program, MQISSP. The advocates support DSS’s prudent plan to assess the impact, good and bad, and make revisions before moving more people into the untested program. Enlightened…

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Medicaid update – HUSKY parents’ time running out, home health and dental get different cuts, autism services moving

Friday’s Medicaid Council touched on several critical issues. We got an update, of sorts, on the fate of HUSKY parents facing the loss of coverage in three weeks. 20% of the 13,811 at-risk parents have either re-qualified for Medicaid (the large majority) or signed up for an AccessHealthCT plan. 3,877 parents from the original number…

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New HUSKY parents numbers show a lot of work needed before July 31st

No one knows why, but the number of HUSKY parents expected to lose coverage at the end of this month dropped from 17,688 to 13,811. That’s probably good news (depending on whether those four thousand already lost coverage and why), but as of late last week, only 15% had either been able to re-enroll in…

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State policymakers hear about successes and challenges in Medicaid reform

Wednesday’s Medicaid Reform meeting hosted by CSG-ERC Health Policy Committeehighlighted the variety of approaches states are taking to address their unique challenges. All states are committed to move away from volume-based payment models toward building value. All states were also committed, and have devoted significant resources, to quality improvement and delivery reform to build programs…

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Practical info for HUSKY parents losing coverage you won’t get anywhere else

Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut has posted practical advice for the 17,688 working parents about to lose HUSKY coverage at the end of next month. Budget issues forced state lawmakers to cut parents’ eligibility. Preparing for the likelihood that many of them will become uninsured, SLSCT has drafted very consumer-friendly fact sheets in Englishand Spanish…

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CSG-ERC offers Medicaid reform resources for state policymakers, including underservice protections

Medicaid is now the largest coverage program in the nation, consuming over a quarter of state budgets, and that share is rising at an unsustainable rate. State Medicaid programs are working on reforms to shift from a system that rewards volume with no regard to quality to a better system that builds value. Next week…

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Medicaid reform application released – good interest at bidder’s conference

CT Medicaid’s plan for payment reform marked a milestone last week with release of the RFPfor provider networks and community health centers to participate. Most of the independent consumer advocates’ Medicaid Study Group recommendations are included, but not all. Pros include protective attribution, no downside risk, smart quality incentives to reward improvement, re-investing savings in…

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Medicaid Council hears about promising homelessness partnership

Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting highlighted a new federal Medicaid-Housing Partnership opportunity for CT. The collaborative application by CT Medicaid and six other agencies and non-profits was one of eight states awarded. Under new federal guidance, Medicaid can cover tenancy sustaining and transition services, such as help with identifying a home, application assistance, help with moving,…

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