HUSKY
Troubling Charter Oak call
We’ve received calls from many consumers about Charter Oak – and it is a good option for some. However yesterday we got a troubling call on our Consumer Helpline (888) 873-4585. Leslie Dmowski called the Charter Oak application number to find out how to apply. She was injured in a car accident and can no…
Read MoreHUSKY/Charter Oak health plan rates up 24% from last year
After accounting for the impact of dental and prescription drug carve outs, the capitated rates paid to the three HUSKY HMOs – Aetna, AmeriChoice (United) and CHN – are 24% higher than the capitated rates paid to the plans last year before November. This is according to an analysis done July 17th for DSS by…
Read MoreHealth First Authority update
Today’s Health First Authority meeting was uneventful. Sharon Langer from CT Voices for Children gave a primer on Medicaid and SCHIP. David Parrella from DSS gave an update on Charter Oak and the HUSKY transition (the same slides he used for Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting). DSS has developed a concept paper for an…
Read MoreMedicaid Managed Care Council update
We got a first look at the HUSKY HMOs’ provider networks at Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting and it wasn’t good. CHN, which has been a part of HUSKY from the beginning, has robust panels of providers across the state. However, the two new HMOs – Americhoice (United) and Aetna – have a long…
Read MoreFor-profit Medicaid managed care plans provide less care according to study, Implications for return to capitation in HUSKY
A study published in Medical Care Research and Review in April found that access to health care is lower for Medicaid managed care members in for-profit HMOs than for those enrolled in nonprofit plans. The author found that members of for-profit plans were 14% less likely to have had a doctor visit in the last…
Read MoreHUSKY/PCCM/Charter Oak update
At Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting, DSS described plans to transition 337,181 HUSKY members from the current non-capitated, fee-for-service structure back into potentially three capitated HMOs starting July 1st, to begin Charter Oak enrollment also on July 1st, the planned dental carve out also set to begin July 1st, and their plan to provide…
Read MoreHUSKY dental lawsuit is settled
Finally, some good news about HUSKY. After eight years, the state and legal aid attorneys have reached a settlement to improve access to dental care in the program. Finding a dentist has been nearly impossible in the program for many years; only 4% of CT dentists participate in HUSKY. The problem pre-dates managed care. Dentists…
Read MoreHUSKY, Charter Oak and other session updates
The General Assembly acted on very few health proposals this year. Some things that did pass: HB 5536 — Rep. Donovan’s bill to allow municipalities and small business to buy directly into the state employee plan pool – the Courant says “Rell’s signature is iffy”. Even if she does approve it, the plan may not…
Read MoreNew report details questions and answers on implementing medical interpretation for CT Medicaid consumers
A new report, Medicaid Payments for Medical Interpreters: Implementation Questions and Recommended Action, commissioned by the CT Health Foundation lays out details the state needs to consider in implementing legislation passed last year providing medical interpretation services to Medicaid consumers. Questions addressed include how much should DSS pay and to whom, in what situations will…
Read MoreEligibility income levels increase tomorrow
Many programs, including HUSKY and Medicaid, base eligibility determinations on the Federal Poverty Level – an antiquated mechanism, that shortchanges CT, of determining what the basics of life cost. Anyway, those dysfunctional standards are updated every year and the new levels become effective tomorrow. Here are the new numbers, with calculations for HUSKY program eligibility…
Read More