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ICER seeks input on non-drug topics for 2020
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review is seeking input on non-drug topics they should study for 2020. An independent nonprofit research institute, ICER is the US leader in assessing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services. ICER’s reports and pricing benchmarks that represent a good value for consumers…
Read MoreBipartisan Insurance Committee forum finds a lot of consensus on potential reforms
Download the CTHPP presentation Yesterday the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Insurance Committee convened a forum on potential reforms to lower healthcare costs. Legislators invited David Seltz from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. Connecticut speakers included representatives from the insurance industry, providers, state officials, a foundation and advocates. A recurring theme was the need…
Read MoreHousing community explores successful CT collaborations to promote health
Over 300 Connecticut affordable housing stakeholders joined Governor Lamont and other speakers at the Affordable Housing Alliance’s 30th annual conference last week. The Governor explained his focus on affordable housing by relating a conversation with a young bus rider in New Haven who’d been homeless as a child. With help from housing care managers, he…
Read MoreCTNJ: CT Medicaid is making the same mistake, again
Despite warnings, the state is about to make a big mistake, again. DSS is planning to renew PCMH Plus, their risky Medicaid experiment that has cost the state more and done nothing to improve care, jeopardizing hard-earned progress. Two years ago, when the state wanted to expand PCMH Plus the first time, advocates raised alarms…
Read MoreCTNJ: A recession is coming and it could hit Connecticut healthcare hard
While President Trump disagrees, a recent survey found that three in four economists expect the US economy to enter a recession by 2021. Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle – it’s not a question of whether it will happen, but when. The last recession, in 2008, hit Connecticut especially hard, and in…
Read MoreJoin webinar for patients on leading methodology to evaluate the value of costly treatments
September 4th all patients and groups are invited to a webinar to give input on ICER’s Value Assessment Framework methods. The non-profit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is the nation’s leading independent analyst of evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other treatments. ICER produces public reports used by Medicare, Medicaid,…
Read MoreProposed federal rule would require hospitals to post negotiated rates
A new proposed federal regulation (called a “rule”) would allow consumers to compare negotiated service prices by hospital and by payer. These would be the real prices paid by insurers, both hospital and payer-specific prices, as well as gross prices. This information could be extremely helpful for consumers without insurance and those with high deductibles…
Read MoreCoincidence? CT spends little on primary care, and we have high ED, preventable hospitalization rates
A new analysis finds that Connecticut, at only 3.5% of our health care dollars spent on primary care, is last among 29 states studied. Not surprisingly, we also rank among the highest in ED visits, all hospitalizations, and in avoidable hospitalizations. The US average is 5.6% of health care spending devoted to primary care, well…
Read MoreNew tool makes Medicaid business case for CT to address obesity
Twenty nine percent of Connecticut children ages 5 to 17 are overweight or obese, according to the Department of Public Health. That number jumps to 47.8% for children living in households with annual incomes between $25,000 to 50,000. Many, maybe most, of these children qualify for Medicaid. Only 13.1% of Connecticut high school students eat…
Read More2019 Connecticut legislative session – what happened and what didn’t happen
Download the full report Connecticut’s General Assembly debated an unusually large number of health-related proposals this year. Some were new and some have been debated for years. Some passed, some were rejected, and some are on hold for next year. As of this writing, only the minimum wage increase bill has been signed into law…
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