Medicaid
More concerns about YNHH, community health center plans for New Haven primary care
Updated 11:30 am A letter from the City of New Haven’s Department of Services for Persons with Disabilities to the state and new Yale Daily News article and one from the New Haven Register highlight transportation issues with YNHH and the two city community health centers’ plans for primary care. Plans to use Uber to…
Read MoreMixed results from great study on Medicaid behavioral health interventions
Yesterday’s MAPOC Complex Care Committee meeting focused on results of an adult high behavioral health need member initiative by Beacon, Medicaid’s behavioral health administrator. The program serves high utilizers of hospital services with behavioral health needs providing intensive care management by teams of clinicians and peer specialists. Medicaid members with high behavioral health needs were…
Read MoreMedicaid update: Quality improving but lots of work to do
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on quality performance in the program. The good news – ED visits and readmissions continue dropping across the program, although community health centers’ performance remains a problem Well-child visit and lead screening rates are higher than the national average Routine care is increasing and inpatient care is decreasing The bad…
Read MoreComments to DSS opposing increase in PCMH Plus funding for program that didn’t improve quality and increased state costs
Read the full comments Thank you for this opportunity to oppose this amendment to add an additional $600,000 to the growing costs of PCMH Plus, the experimental new Medicaid shared savings program. The state cannot afford to spend more on this program that, in 2017 its first year, did not improve the quality of care…
Read MoreWeak answers to state’s second set of questions about YNHH primary care plan for New Haven
Yesterday, Yale-New Haven submitted answers to the state’s second set of questions about their controversial plan to shift care for 28,500 mainly low-income people to a new site, far from neighborhoods. They also plan to shift Medicaid billing for those patients to New Haven’s two community health centers “for increased reimbursement through the FQHC enhanced…
Read MorePCMH Plus Year 1 Performance and Savings Results: Increased state costs but little evidence of impact on quality
Read the full report This month, Connecticut Medicaid announced the first year performance of PCMH Plus[1], their controversial new shared savings program[2] compared to the prior year. Under shared savings, if health systems (ACOs) are able to lower the cost of their members’ care, they receive a bonus equal to half those savings. PCMH Plus…
Read MoreYNHH, clinics respond to state questions on primary care plan
Yesterday Yale-New Haven Hospital responded to questions from the state prompted by community and advocate concerns at a recent public hearing about their controversial plans to shift primary care for 28,500 people. Technically patients at the new YNHH site would be attributed to the Fairhaven and Cornell Scott-Hill health centers for billing purposes but would…
Read MoreAccessHealthCT enrollment down in early numbers but 23% of CT uninsured could get bronze-level coverage with no premiums
There are affordable coverage options available for many CT uninsured but they need to apply soon. An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 22,888, or 23% of uninsured CT residents qualify for $0 premiums with tax credits for 2019 bronze-level plans on our state’s exchange, AccessHealthCT. Many likely also qualify for significant relief…
Read MoreMore press and a defense on YNHH, clinics plan for New Haven primary care
Both concerns and support were raised at the public hearing about the proposal to close Yale-New Haven’s primary care clinics, move patients and YNHH clinicians to a more distant site, but technically transfer 28,500 patients to the Fairhaven and Cornell Scott Hill health centers. CTHPP testified with concerns about potentially substantial new costs to the…
Read MoreHealth Affairs: CHC, Inc. eConsult program saved on specialty care and improved access
This month’s Health Affairs includes a study on the effectiveness of eConsults for Medicaid members needing specialty care. Specialty referrals are rising, especially for Medicaid members, who often experience challenges getting that care. In response to this barrier for their patients, in 2011 Connecticut’s CHC, Inc. created a system to link primary and specialty care…
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