Medicaid
Drama at the Medicaid Managed Care Council
Yesterday, the Council passed a resolution to recommend a delay in transitioning HUSKY families into the new HMOs and to freeze enrollment in Charter Oak until July 1st, 2009. The council was concerned that only a handful of providers have signed up with the two new plans, AmeriChoice and Aetna Better Health, and that patients…
Read MoreCharter Oak/HUSKY troubles in the news
The current problems getting providers to participate in the new Charter Oak/HUSKY plans have been hot news lately. A sampling: The Day ctnewsjunkie.com Hartford Courant Journal Inquirer New Haven Register Waterbury Republican American Kaiser Daily Health Reports Medical News Today CT Post WTIC News Talk 1080 Fox News 61 News Channel 3 Norwich Bulletin According…
Read MoreCharter Oak/HUSKY/PCCM update
DSS Comm. Mike Starkowski met with the Appropriations and Human Service Committees yesterday delivering a 72 page program update. The big news (from our perspective) is that the PCCM concept paper, drafted by a working group of DSS staff and advocates (including the CT Health Policy Project), will be submitted to the legislature next week.…
Read MoreTroubling Charter Oak call
We’ve received calls from many consumers about Charter Oak – and it is a good option for some. However yesterday we got a troubling call on our Consumer Helpline (888) 873-4585. Leslie Dmowski called the Charter Oak application number to find out how to apply. She was injured in a car accident and can no…
Read MoreHUSKY/Charter Oak health plan rates up 24% from last year
After accounting for the impact of dental and prescription drug carve outs, the capitated rates paid to the three HUSKY HMOs – Aetna, AmeriChoice (United) and CHN – are 24% higher than the capitated rates paid to the plans last year before November. This is according to an analysis done July 17th for DSS by…
Read MoreConcerns about new Charter Oak $100,000 annual cap
On Monday, Time magazine posted a story called “Low Health Insurance Caps Leave Patients Stranded.” The article exposes the real impact of caps as low as $1 million on individuals and families who face very serious illnesses. This issue is particularly important as the new state Charter Oak Health Plan rolls out. On the day…
Read MoreHealth First Authority update
Today’s Health First Authority meeting was uneventful. Sharon Langer from CT Voices for Children gave a primer on Medicaid and SCHIP. David Parrella from DSS gave an update on Charter Oak and the HUSKY transition (the same slides he used for Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting). DSS has developed a concept paper for an…
Read MoreMedicaid Managed Care Council update
We got a first look at the HUSKY HMOs’ provider networks at Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting and it wasn’t good. CHN, which has been a part of HUSKY from the beginning, has robust panels of providers across the state. However, the two new HMOs – Americhoice (United) and Aetna – have a long…
Read MoreHealth First and Primary Care Authority Updates
Last Thursday both Authorities met in separate meetings. The Health First Authority is collecting information on CT’s spending on health care and Medicaid rates. Urban Institute researchers shared info from a 2003 Health Affairs article showing that CT’s Medicaid rates averaged 83% of Medicare, compared to 69% nationally. MA pays 80%, NY 45% and RI…
Read MoreFor-profit Medicaid managed care plans provide less care according to study, Implications for return to capitation in HUSKY
A study published in Medical Care Research and Review in April found that access to health care is lower for Medicaid managed care members in for-profit HMOs than for those enrolled in nonprofit plans. The author found that members of for-profit plans were 14% less likely to have had a doctor visit in the last…
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