insurance
August CT Health Policy Webquiz: ACA insurance rebates in CT
Test your knowledge about ACA insurance rebates to CT residents. Take the August CT Health Policy Webquiz.
Read MoreHalf of exchange enrollees were uninsured
A survey released yesterday conducted by AccessHealthCT found that 53% of people who signed up for coverage through the exchange this year were previously uninsured. The question asked if anyone in the enrollees’ household had insurance in the past year. Interestingly the percent of households previously uninsured differed little for those who enrolled in Medicaid…
Read MoreCA’s exchange keeps coverage affordable through negotiation
Premiums on California’s exchange will rise only 4.2% next year, due in large part to active purchasing. Overall health spending is expected to rise 6.2% next year. Through active purchasing, CA’s exchange negotiates premiums with insurers to get the best deal for consumers. Connecticut’s exchange does not negotiate premiums on behalf of consumers. CT’s insurance…
Read More$3 million in ACA insurance rebates coming to CT residents
69,186 CT residents will soon receive $3 million in rebates from insurers that spent less than 80% (individual coverage) or 85% (large groups) of premiums on medical or quality improvement services last year. The rebates result from Medical Loss Ratio provisions in the ACA. CT’s total is down from $5.6 million in total refunds for…
Read MoreData breach at Access Health CT, troubling for APCD future
Friday afternoon a backpack was found on a Hartford street with sensitive information on about 400 Access Health CT customers. The backpack included four notepads with handwritten names, social security numbers and dates of birth, as well as internal Access Health CT papers. People whose information was breached have been contacted and offered credit monitoring…
Read MoreAnthem & ConnectiCare premiums submitted are up sharply for 2015, HealthyCT rates down — updated
Proposed premiums for the insurance exchange were due to the insurance dept. Friday and they are up significantly from this year’s premiums, according to CT Mirror. Anthem’s proposed premiums are up 12.5% on average; ConnectiCare’s base rate is up 11.8% for next year. CT’s premiums for this year are the 4th highest in the nation…
Read MoreNews: Independent CT hospitals discussing tiered networks, Pre-ACA CID routinely approved very high rates for Aetna
The Hartford Business Journal is reporting that some smaller, independent CT hospitals are in discussions with each other and with insurers about options that improve their efficiency and make coverage more affordable. The hospitals are talking with insurers about value-based insurance designs or tiered networks where consumers who choose to access care at lower priced…
Read MoreExchange tweaks for 2015 offerings – weak on affordability, expanded networks, HSAs
Changes for next year’s CT health insurance exchange plan offerings are small and unlikely to change premiums much. Cost sharing for the most affordable plans will be rising, with consumers paying more for services. Studies find that even modest increases in cost sharing lead consumers to reduce both necessary and unnecessary care, and can drive…
Read MoreCabinet meeting – exchange and SIM updates
Most of today’s Cabinet meeting was spent on SIM’s decision to create a CT-specific medical home standard rather than using well-vetted, evidence based national standards. (May 29th we are hosting a webinar with NCQA to learn more about the NCQA system that has certified 1,009 PCMH providers in CT already. Register here.) Questions were raised…
Read MoreSHOP exchange facing challenges, low enrollment
A CT Mirror article examines the reasons behind very low enrollment in CT’s insurance exchange for small businesses (SHOP). This shouldn’t come as news – low enrollment was predicted by analysts hired by the exchange. The reason was also predicted – it’s expensive. The article explores other problems including poor marketing, no online tool linking…
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