Medicaid
CT News Junkie: What does it take to stop repeating a bad idea?
Albert Einstein believed the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Unfortunately, Connecticut policymakers haven’t learned this lesson. Provider financial risk is a bad idea that has failed both in our state and nationally. Read more
Read MoreThirty-one independent consumer advocates share concerns with SIM’s latest push for capitation
Despite the historic failures of capitation in Connecticut and beyond, our state’s SIM health planning office is continuing the drumbeat to re-impose the risky system across our state, this time for primary care. In Primary Care Payment Reform: Unlocking the Potential of Primary Care, the SIM office is proposing set payments for primary care providers…
Read MoreSmart CT Medicaid smoking cessation coverage
A new CDC analysis finds that CT’s Medicaid program is among the most progressive in covering smoking cessation treatments. Medicaid members are twice as likely to smoke as other Americans. Smoking-related treatment costs US Medicaid programs about $39 billion annually, so effective tools to quit are a smart investment for states. Despite improvements, most states’…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Connecticut should be careful building a public insurance option through Medicaid
Health insurance is too expensive in Connecticut and it may get worse with troubling new federal policies. But one proposed state solution isn’t as simple as it sounds. Read more
Read MoreCommittee develops care plan best practices recommendations for Medicaid
The Complex Care Committee of CT’s Medicaid Council has made recommendations to DSS for careplans in the Medicaid program. The importance of effective care plans has arisen often throughout the committee’s work diving deep into barriers to care for Medicaid members with complex health needs. Effective care plans ensure that people are driving decisions about…
Read MoreCTNJ: Advocates must inform consumers of risks when the state won’t
This week, independent advocates launched PCMHPlusFacts.org, a campaign to give HUSKY members balanced information about an experimental, new payment model expanding across the program. PCMH Plus has risks for consumers along with possible benefits, but HUSKY members aren’t aware of them or that they have the right to opt-out of the new payment model. Read more
Read MoreAdvocates launch PCMHPlusFacts.org, giving HUSKY members balanced information on the controversial new program
Today, independent consumer advocates launched a website, PCMHPlusFacts.org, to explain the facts about HUSKY’s experimental, new payment plan to run the program. The site was developed in response to the state’s erosion of federally required notices to consumers about their right to opt-out of the program. The state changed the notices at the last minute…
Read MoreCorrected: Opt-ing out of PCMH+ isn’t easy, and that’s not evidence that PCMH+ works
Correction – The notice sent to PCMH Plus consumers in December 2016 included the accurate phone number to call to opt-out of the program.
Read MoreGood news on Medicaid costs, but big problems with transportation
At Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting, DSS reported that per person costs in CT’s Medicaid program continue to provide relief to the state’s budget, dropping 1.6% from FY 2016 to 2017. Over the last five years, per person costs in the program are down 3.4%. In FY 2016 Medicaid consumed 22.7% of our state budget, compared…
Read MoreCTNJ: Poll says Healthcare, Insurance Costs Threaten Connecticut’s Standard of Living
Connecticut voters are worried about healthcare costs and don’t believe state government is doing enough, according to a new poll. Almost half of Connecticut voters named healthcare and insurance costs as a major problem in maintaining their current standard of living. Half of Connecticut voters also think the state doesn’t spend enough on Medicaid Read…
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