Medicaid
SIM update: PCMH standards affirmed but rushing into a radical Medicaid payment change
The good news: At yesterday’s meeting the SIM steering committee voted to accept their workgroup’s recommendation to use NCQA national standards, with some CT-specific additions, as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) standard for the SIM glide path program. SIM will work with NCQA to develop the additional standards, possibly to include oral and behavioral health…
Read MoreAdvocates’ comment urging DSS not to erode successful PCMH standards in Medicaid regulations
Eighteen consumer organizations signed onto a letter of comment sent yesterday making the case that DSS should continue using successful national standards for patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in new Medicaid regulations. Original versions of draft language included the current practice of adopting NCQA national standards for PCMH recognition and incentives. However, without notice, national standard…
Read MoreSIM committee to discuss PCMH national home standards
The first meeting of the SIM Practice Management Taskforce will re-visit SIM’s earlier decision to reject national standards for patient-centered medical homes. National standards, such as NCQA, have been very successful nationally and in CT in improving health outcomes while controlling costs. Advocates have serious concerns about eroding standards that promote quality care and ensure…
Read MoreMedicaid Council update
The agenda for last week’s Medicaid Council meeting was very full. We reviewed DSS’s latest ConneCT Dashboard. More clients are using the online system, but more are also walking into a DSS office. The backlog of documents to be scanned is gone and last month the online system was never down. However, the call abandonment…
Read MoreCabinet update – DSS/exchange IT and SIM updates
The SIM update included a description of the recent funding application release. All drafts for the grant will only go through the Steering Committee. It was clarified that the “owners” of the SIM process are the related state agencies. SIM intends to “align” CT’s health priorities with the federal grant. Concerns were raised that the…
Read MoreNew Brief: Patient-centered medical homes are working in CT, but standards are at risk
Patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) are working well in CT. There is growing national and state evidence that certified PCMHs improve health care access and outcomes while controlling costs. PCMHs are a new way of delivering health care that uses a team of providers to coordinate care and help people keep themselves healthy. CT’s Medicaid program…
Read More208,301 in CT enrolled in health care under ACA
AccessHealthCT has worked through the queue of applications pending when enrollment into the insurance exchange closed March 31st. Between Jan 1stand March 31st, 208,301 state residents were enrolled in coverage. Most qualified for Medicaid – 129,588 – approximately the number of new eligibles originally estimated for the state. (For the nitpickers out there – it…
Read MoreSettlement reached in Medicaid enrollment lawsuit
DSS and legal aid attorneys have reached a settlement in a class action case, filed in January 2012, over Medicaid application delays. Delays of six months are common for people with high medical costs or needing home care. Under terms of the settlement, by next April DSS must process 92% of applications within the federal…
Read MoreMedicaid update
Yesterday’s Medicaid Council focused on improving enrollment and quality performance in the program. From the new ConneCT Dashboard we learned that there is no longer a backlog of enrollment documents waiting to be scanned into the system, that waiting times for the call center are down from 75 to 39 minutes, but that the hours…
Read MoreApril CT Health Policy Webquiz: Medicaid, exchange churn in CT
Test your knowledge about churn out of public coverage in CT. Take the April CT Health Policy Webquiz.
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