insurance
Connecticut deductibles are high and rising, but premiums are rising more slowly
Download the report New numbers from the 2018 US Medical Expenditure Panel Survey finds that deductibles for private-sector health insurance in Connecticut are high at $2,322 for single coverage and $3,784 for families, the 3rd and 9th highest among states respectively. Deductibles more than doubled between 2008 and 2018 both in Connecticut and the nation.…
Read MoreConnecticut’s uninsured rate stabilizes, retaining ACA gains
Download the report New numbers from the US Census Bureau report that 187,000 or 5.3% of Connecticut residents were uninsured last year. That number is down slightly from the year before when the uninsured rate was 5.5%, but above 2016’s rate at 4.9%. The new data continues the trend of fewer uninsured that began with…
Read MoreCT Medicaid child checkup rates jumped when HMOs were fired
Well-child screenings increased twelve percent for HUSKY children between FY 2001 and FY 2012, according to a new report from the Government Accounting Office. While correlation is not causation, it is important to note that on January 1, 2012 Connecticut Medicaid payment shifted from capitation through private managed care companies to our current managed fee-for-service…
Read More2020 insurance premium requests increase lower for individuals on AccessHealthCT, most of whom are subsidized, older and higher risk
Connecticut insurers have filed their requests for individual and small group premium increases for 2020 with the CT Insurance Dept. Requests vary from an average reduction of 9.8% for CTCare individual plans outside AccessHealthCT, our state’s insurance exchange, to 22% average increases for Aetna small group plans also outside AccessHealthCT. Six in ten people in…
Read MoreCTNJ: CT doesn’t score well on healthcare – prices are to blame
A new state health ranking is out, and Connecticut trails the rest of New England. Connecticut’s big problem is the cost of our care. Our performance in health outcomes and access to care are passable, but we are 44th among states in the cost of care. Read more
Read MoreACA @10: Conference on the Affordable Care Act’s status and future
Join leaders who helped pass and implement the Affordable Care Act, September 26th and 27th at the Yale Law School for The ACA at Ten, a conference to reflect on the Affordable Care Act. Speakers include Rahm Emanuel, Kathleen Sebelius, and 22 other scholars and policymakers. Speakers will examine the ACA’s successes, shortcomings, and future.…
Read MoreCoincidence? CT spends little on primary care, and we have high ED, preventable hospitalization rates
A new analysis finds that Connecticut, at only 3.5% of our health care dollars spent on primary care, is last among 29 states studied. Not surprisingly, we also rank among the highest in ED visits, all hospitalizations, and in avoidable hospitalizations. The US average is 5.6% of health care spending devoted to primary care, well…
Read MoreLarge study finds selection bias in Medicare shared savings erases savings and quality improvements – advocates saw this coming
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that the modest savings and quality improvements reported by Medicare’s extensive shared savings program (MSSP) are likely due to adverse selection. High cost clinicians and beneficiaries were far more likely than others to exit the program. When adjusted for the selective bias in MSSP exit, reported savings and…
Read More2019 Connecticut legislative session – what happened and what didn’t happen
Download the full report Connecticut’s General Assembly debated an unusually large number of health-related proposals this year. Some were new and some have been debated for years. Some passed, some were rejected, and some are on hold for next year. As of this writing, only the minimum wage increase bill has been signed into law…
Read MoreState budget deal restores coverage for 4,000 HUSKY parents, a move toward quality-based payments, and insurance protections
Policymakers have reached a $43 billion state budget deal to cover the next two fiscal years, on-time before the end of the session. For health policy folks, there is a lot to like in the deal but a few notes of caution. The best part is a partial restoration of HUSKY parents’ eligibility cuts from…
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