insurance
Free state employee retiree health coverage being re-considered
The CT Mirror is reporting that some members of a state panel charged with addressing underfunding of CT’s state retiree benefits are questioning the policy giving retirees and their spouses completely free health benefits for life. State employees with just ten years of service are eligible for the benefit, which is unusual in the private…
Read MoreAetna paper health files sold with used furniture
Lest any reader think that paper health records are more secure than electronic files, the Hartford Courant reports that file folders with personal information on 4,900 people were accidentally left in a filing cabinet sold or given away free. Eighteen of the members whose information was in the files are Connecticut residents. The filing cabinet…
Read MoreIn first test implementing health reform, state reconsidering high risk pool plans
In our state’s first test implementing federal health reform, Governor Rell has asked DSS and other agencies to start over in their decision to build onto CT’s high risk pool. The federal Accountable Care Act provides funding for temporary programs to provide coverage to people left out of the private market due to; the programs…
Read MoreHealth benefits consuming more of total employee compensation, Northeast most expensive
Between March 2000 and 2010, health care benefits grew from 5.5% to 7.5% of total compensation costs nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In March 2010, health insurance averaged $2.08/hour worked in private industry — more than disability, retirement, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, life insurance or paid leave. Not surprisingly,…
Read MoreMedicaid Managed Care Council update
Friday’s Council meeting focused mainly on plans for the $50 million temporary high risk pool opportunity created by national health reform. DSS joined the CT Insurance Dept. and the Health Reinsurance Association (HRA) to describe their plans. They intend to piggyback on the current high risk pool administered by HRA which was created in 1976…
Read MorePatients asked to leave medical practice after filing complaints for excessive billing
Two Hartford Medical Group patients have been told they are no longer welcome at the practice for complaining about fees charged to them above the payments by their insurers for routine physicals, which are 100% covered. Three complaints have been filed with the Attorney General’s office for excessive and unjustified billing; one patient was told…
Read MoreRisk adjusting rates webinar slides and video posted
you missed Wednesday’s webinar with Diane Laurent and David Williams of Milliman, the slides and video are now online. Diane and David described the methodologies to adjust rates based on each patient’s utilization history and diagnoses. Some models can predict future utilization and events, such as hospitalizations, for each patient providing an important tool to…
Read MoreTest your knowledge of CT’s individual insurance market
June’s CT Health Policy Webquiz tests your knowledge of CT’s non-group insurance market.
Read MoreReport finds one in five CT residents have pre-existing conditions and risk of insurance denial
A new report by Families USA finds that 593,000 CT residents have been diagnosed with one or more condition that could result in denial of insurance coverage. In September, under the new national health reform act, insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to the 44,200 CT children with pre-existing conditions, but the other half…
Read MoreNew webinar on risk adjustment models
The success of health care payment reforms rests on the ability to fairly adjust provider rates to reflect the expected health costs of each patient. Accurate risk adjustment can reduce incentives to over treat or avoid high cost patients. The science of risk adjustment has evolved significantly. Hear from experts about the methodologies and models…
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