Stats & Data
Medicaid missing data concerns
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on concerns with Veyo, the state’s new transportation contractor, and DSS operations performance, especially ongoing call center problems. Unfortunately, we are getting even less data than in the past. Veyo’s presentation did little to counter the landslide of complaints from consumers and providers about the transportation system and missing data…
Read MoreState Scorecard finds CT does fairly well, but poorly in Avoidable Hospital Use and Cost
The latest Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard finds CT’s performance across our health system ninth among states, unchanged from last year. While good, we can do much better given our rankings in personal income, education and overall high health status. We are 32nd among states in Avoidable Hospital Use and Costs, down by three from last…
Read MoreBirths to very young girls declining, CT rate low but towns vary
A new CDC analysis finds that births to girls ages 10 to 14 reached a record low in 2015 and 2016 at 0.2 per 1,000 population. CT was among 8 states with the lowest rate; Mississippi was highest at 0.7 per 1,000. DPH’s vital statistics reported 15 births to CT girls under age 15 in…
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 MoreCT life expectancy rising, but risks vary
A comprehensive, new analysis of public health outcomes, risks, and causes by state published in JAMA finds that life expectancy for CT residents rose from 77 years in 1990 to 80.8 year in 2016. Healthy life expectancy (maybe more important) also rose from 66.5 years to 69 years. States varied widely in the burden of…
Read MoreChartbook: Prescription drugs driving CT health costs across payers
According to a new Chartbook, prescription drugs are the largest driver of health costs in our state. We spend more per person on prescriptions than all states but Delaware and that number is rising faster here than most states. Charts regarding Medicaid spending have been corrected to reflect that pharmacy costs in the program have…
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 MoreMedicaid update: New data on high-cost, high-need members
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on CT’s participation in a national technical assistance program to identify and meet the needs of high-cost, high-need patients. This population has received a great deal of attention from policymakers as the best opportunity to both improve access and quality of care as well as control costs. The concept offers…
Read MoreMedicaid update: New data on high-cost, high-need members
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on CT’s participation in a national technical assistance program to identify and meet the needs of high-cost, high-need patients. This population has received a great deal of attention from policymakers as the best opportunity to both improve access and quality of care as well as control costs. The concept offers…
Read MoreMAPOC: Harnessing the power of data analytics to improve health
Last week, MAPOC’s Complex Care Committee heard an exciting presentation by Alan Fontes of UConn Analytics and Information Management Solutions. Alan came to UConn from DeLoitte where he led their project providing healthcare advanced analytics and information management for states across the US. He described the power of analytics to help guide smart planning for…
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