HUSKY
SIM moving ahead with risky Medicaid plan despite 25 advocates’ objections
At yesterday’s meeting, the SIM steering committee chose to move ahead with plans to radically change the Medicaid program – to include shared savings and an 1115 waiver. The new plan, rushed out in only a few weeks, reverses earlier assurances to advocates that the state would go slowly into shared savings payment incentives, recognizing…
Read MoreMedicaid Council voices concerns about new SIM proposal
In a special meeting yesterday, the majority of Medicaid Council members voiced concerns about the rushed, new SIM proposal for Medicaid. Legislators compared the new proposal to the failed HUSKY HMO proposal 20 years ago and made it clear that they are concerned about “going back down that road”. Concerns included the application’s aggressive pace of…
Read MoreQuestions for SIM about radical new Medicaid proposal
Questions sent yesterday for today’s meeting about SIM’s risky, new Medicaid proposal have been posted. One asks why a dangerous 1115 waiver is necessary? Did SIM planners explore other, less dangerous options? 1115 waivers necessarily include a cap on federal reimbursement (to meet the federal budget neutrality requirement) endangering the state budget and potential future…
Read MoreSpecial Medicaid Council meeting on new SIM Medicaid plan
The very new SIM plan for Medicaid will be the subject of a special MAPOC meeting tomorrow July 8th at 9:30 in Room 2C of the LOB. Concerns have been raised about both the content and the process for this radical departure from the original SIM plan for CT’s largest health plan. We expect more…
Read MoreAdvocates’ comment urging DSS not to erode successful PCMH standards in Medicaid regulations
Eighteen consumer organizations signed onto a letter of comment sent yesterday making the case that DSS should continue using successful national standards for patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in new Medicaid regulations. Original versions of draft language included the current practice of adopting NCQA national standards for PCMH recognition and incentives. However, without notice, national standard…
Read MoreSIM committee to discuss PCMH national home standards
The first meeting of the SIM Practice Management Taskforce will re-visit SIM’s earlier decision to reject national standards for patient-centered medical homes. National standards, such as NCQA, have been very successful nationally and in CT in improving health outcomes while controlling costs. Advocates have serious concerns about eroding standards that promote quality care and ensure…
Read MoreMedicaid Council update
The agenda for last week’s Medicaid Council meeting was very full. We reviewed DSS’s latest ConneCT Dashboard. More clients are using the online system, but more are also walking into a DSS office. The backlog of documents to be scanned is gone and last month the online system was never down. However, the call abandonment…
Read MoreCabinet update – DSS/exchange IT and SIM updates
The SIM update included a description of the recent funding application release. All drafts for the grant will only go through the Steering Committee. It was clarified that the “owners” of the SIM process are the related state agencies. SIM intends to “align” CT’s health priorities with the federal grant. Concerns were raised that the…
Read MoreNew Brief: Patient-centered medical homes are working in CT, but standards are at risk
Patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) are working well in CT. There is growing national and state evidence that certified PCMHs improve health care access and outcomes while controlling costs. PCMHs are a new way of delivering health care that uses a team of providers to coordinate care and help people keep themselves healthy. CT’s Medicaid program…
Read More208,301 in CT enrolled in health care under ACA
AccessHealthCT has worked through the queue of applications pending when enrollment into the insurance exchange closed March 31st. Between Jan 1stand March 31st, 208,301 state residents were enrolled in coverage. Most qualified for Medicaid – 129,588 – approximately the number of new eligibles originally estimated for the state. (For the nitpickers out there – it…
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