Smart Savings
DSS plans for high-cost, high-need members focuses on behavioral health
At yesterday’s online MAPOC Complex Care Committee meeting, DSS described their innovation plan to address the needs of high-cost, high-need Medicaid members. (meeting video and slides) The project was made possible by a technical assistance grant from the National Governor’s Association. Five agencies and the Medicaid Administrative Service Organizations, CHNCT and Beacon Health, have worked…
Read MoreTwenty-six advocates support DSS decision to evaluate Medicaid reform
Wednesday 26 independent consumer advocates wrote the Lieutenant Governor supporting DSS’s decision to evaluate outcomes after the first wave of 200,000+ members into the new Medicaid shared savings program, MQISSP. The advocates support DSS’s prudent plan to assess the impact, good and bad, and make revisions before moving more people into the untested program. Enlightened…
Read MoreNew Haven Register Forum: ICER part of solution in addressing drug effectiveness, cost
From yesterday’s New Haven Register: The news is full of recent drug companies’ breathtaking price hikes. A new study by Reuters finds that prices for four of the top 10 U.S. drugs more than doubled since 2011, and prices for the other six rose more than 50 percent. These drugs treat common problems such as arthritis, asthma…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting affirms the value of outpatient palliative care, but more research is needed
At yesterday’s meeting in Hartford, CEPAC took a deep dive into the clinical and cost effectiveness of palliative care delivered in outpatient settings. From CEPAC’s report, “Palliative care is a management approach that provides symptom relief and comfort care to patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses, with the goal of improving quality of life for both patients…
Read MoreCEPAC meeting next Thursday in CT – come watch smart people debate and vote on the effectiveness of palliative care interventions
The March meeting of CEPAC, New England’s comparative effectiveness council, will be in Hartford next Thursday, the 31stat the Bushnell. CEPAC is an independent council of clinicians, academics and consumer advocates who take a deep dive into research around treatments for specific conditions, sorting out and voting on clinical effectiveness, but also which are worth…
Read MoreWall Street Journal article celebrates CT Medicaid success after move away from private insurers
On page 3 this weekend, the Wall Street Journal highlighted CT Medicaid’s success controlling costs and improving care by bucking the usual trend. Four years ago CT moved away from private insurers to run the program ourselves – and that has made all the difference. “’Been there, done that and it didn’t work,” says Robert…
Read MoreCEPAC coming to Connecticut – effectiveness of palliative care
The March meeting of CEPAC, New England’s comparative effectiveness council, will be in Hartford on the 31stat the Bushnell. CEPAC is an independent council of clinicians, academics and consumer advocates who take a deep dive into research around treatments for specific conditions, sorting out and voting on clinical effectiveness, but also which are worth the…
Read MoreHow CT can save $1 billion
Per person costs in CT’s Medicaid program fell, actually went down, by 5.9% last year. If the rest of CT’s state budget could match that performance, we would have a $1 billion surplus. Following is my list for how we could spend it (this was fun). · Reverse the HUSKY parents cut · Reverse the…
Read MoreOp-Ed — CT Medicaid: Don’t Mess With What’s Working
In an unusual twist, two prominent legal aide attorneys highlight Medicaid’s exceptional performance in improving quality, expanding access to care and controlling costs in a New Haven Register op-ed yesterday. CT’s Medicaid program is remarkable in actually lowering the cost of care for members, while improving the care they receive. Legal aid’s role is not…
Read MoreCT Medicaid spending down 4.2% from FY 14 to FY 15
Happily CT’s Medicaid program is bucking the state budget trend. State spending on CT’s Medicaid program fell 4.2% between state fiscal year (FY) 2014 and 2015, largely due to higher federal reimbursements, according to an analysis by the Office of State Comptroller. Between FYs 2009 and 2015, Medicaid averaged 4.1% annual increases, lower than the…
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