HUSKY
Advocates’ guide to underservice recommendations
SIM is seeking to radically transform our state’s $30 billion health system and has chosen a shared savings payment model for those reforms. Advocates are concerned about incentives to deny necessary care under the new payment model, as happened in the past. SIM’s Equity and Access Council was charged with developing protections to limit and…
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Medicaid — Connecticut has a lot to be thankful for
Fifty years ago today President Johnson signed the Medicaid program into law. The program now covers one in five Connecticut residents with efficient, quality care. Since switching from a capitated, insurer-based program to a self-determined, care-focused program in January 2012, costs are stable (down slightly) per person, quality is up (fewer people are going to…
Read MoreWhere We Live: Medicaid is 50 and Looking Good
Fifty years ago this week, Lyndon Johnson signed Medicaid into law. On today’s show, WNPR’s Where We Livecelebrated the program that covers one in five CT residents with comprehensive care and brought $3.3 billion in federal funds to our state. More efficient than private insurance, leading the state in quality improvement as it cares for…
Read MoreStudy finds CT early Medicaid expansion reduced hospital uncompensated care
A new study published in this month’s Health Affairs finds that CT hospital Medicaid revenue grew by 7 to 8% after CT took advantage of the ACA’s early Medicaid expansion option in 2010. The study also finds that uncompensated care costs to CT hospitals were one third lower than they would have been without the…
Read MoreMedicaid phone wait times drop significantly
At last week’s Medicaid Council meeting we heard about strong progress toward reducing phone wait times. Average wait times dropped 52% from April to May while abandoned calls fell 42%. By the last week of June, average wait times were down to 11 minutes from 57 minutes in March. The improvements resulted in 6,466 more…
Read MoreBudget implementer makes significant changes
Early this morning the House passed HB-1502– the 686-page bill that describes how the state FY 2016-2018 budget passed four weeks ago is to be implemented. But the bill also makes numerous substantive changes to the original budget. In addition to tax reductions for large businesses, the bill includes the implementer language to cut coverage…
Read MoreWebinar online – Caring for high-need patients – Lessons for CT
Evidence is growing that we cannot fix our health care system without addressing the needs of the small number of patients with very complex and costly health problems. Connecticut can learn from other programs across the US as we build reforms for our state and our Medicaid program. On this week’s webinar we heard from…
Read MoreJune web quiz on CT Medicaid/CHIP enrollment
Test your knowledge of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment in Connecticut. Take the June CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read More20,000 to 25,000 HUSKY parents lose coverage under state budget deal
According to a CT Mirror report, the budget approved by the legislature and Governor today eliminates coverage for up to 25,000 HUSKY parents with household incomes over 150% of the federal poverty level. The deal exempts pregnant women. While tragic for those families, the Governor’s proposal would have cut more parents and pregnant women at…
Read MoreCT Medicaid/CHIP programs lost 11,019 members between January and February
A new CMS report found that enrollment in CT’s Medicaid and CHIP programs dropped by 11,019 (-1.5%) from January to February of this year. This is very usual, especially among states that have chosen to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Among expansion states, Medicaid/CHIP enrollment averaged 0.98% growth; even non-expansion states saw an average 0.43%…
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