HUSKY
PCCM/HUSKY Primary Care Forum
To answer questions as PCCM, now known as HUSKY Primary Care, is rolling out in New Haven and Hartford by January 1st, advocates are holding a forum Thursday November 19th at 6pm. It will be at our offices in the Red Cross Building – 703 Whitney Avenue in New Haven. The forum is sponsored by…
Read MoreBehavioral Health Partnership forums
The CT Behavioral Health Partnership, family advocacy organizations and the Community Collaborative are sponsoring three forums about Enhanced Care Clinics (ECCs). The Partnership is CT’s non-risk program providing coordinated mental health and substance abuse services to HUSKY members. ECCs are behavioral health providers that offer timely urgent and routine care as well as coordination of…
Read MoreNew PCCM/HUSKY Primary Care outreach tools
New outreach materials for use by advocates recruiting providers and consumers into PCCM – now named HUSKY Primary Care – are available on the CT Health Policy Project website. The tools include a updated FAQs for providers and for consumers. Our new consumer newsletter is also posted in English and Spanish.
Read MoreCourant editorial calls for DSS Commissioner search
Yesterday’s Hartford Courant editorial calls for a broad search for the next Commissioner of DSS. This echoes other voices, including ours. State health care programs have struggled in recent years. National health reforms offer Connecticut exciting new opportunities but also immense challenges that will make the last decade seem easy. The choice of a new…
Read MoreDSS gets an earful at PCCM subcommittee meeting
Today’s PCCM subcommittee meeting of the Medicaid Managed Care Council was very heated. Again the room was packed, including four legislators in person and one on the phone. DSS reported that they still have 54 providers in the Waterbury and Willimantic areas participating; no increase from the last meeting two months ago. They are beginning…
Read MoreChallenges and promise of PCCM highlighted in today’s Waterbury Republican-American
An article on the front page of today’s Waterbury Republican-American describes both the potential for PCCM and the challenges in implementing the program, especially with a reluctant state agency responsible for marketing. Volunteers have been left with the job of letting people know about the opportunity and what the program is. Sandi Carbonari, a Waterbury…
Read MoreFrom the Consumer Helpline
A consumer called our helpline because he has Medicaid and can’t find a primary care provider in New Haven who takes Medicaid and will take a new patient. He tried looking on the DSS Provider Directory Search and called the doctors listed there. They weren’t taking new Medicaid patients. He tried asking his specialist, who…
Read MoreMedicaid Managed Care Council update
Today’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting touched on some new issues and revisited some old ones. There was a strong exchange on the Charter Oak annual $100,000 and lifetime $1 million limits. Sen. Prague talked about a patient who called her office needing treatment for cancer that exceeded the annual cap. He was eventually able…
Read MoreCharter Oak after one year – mixed returns
One year after the implementation of the Governor’s Charter Oak Health Plan, the program is still struggling to make a difference for CT’s 326,000 uninsured as outlined in a Stamford Advocate article yesterday, updated today. Currently there are just under 9,000 members accessing care who may not have any other option. However, a year ago…
Read MoreSenate passes a budget, Governor expected to veto
Yesterday the Senate passed a Democratic budget spending $35.5 billion over the next two years. The fiscal year ends next Tuesday. The Democratic budget saves health coverage for legal immigrants, the current definition of medical necessity for Medicaid, and increases cigarette taxes by 75 cents per pack to $2.75. The budget also takes $50 million…
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