uninsured
Community Catalyst at the HealthFirst Authority
Friday, Michael Miller of Massachusetts-based Community Catalyst presented to the Cost, Cost Containment & Finance Working Group of the HealthFirst Authority. His presentation focused on “cost containment strategies in other states.” He opened with, “Cost containment is not a useful framework.” He went on to say that if we were spending more than other countries…
Read MoreAnthem not bidding on Charter Oak or HUSKY
Last week, Anthem sent a letter notifying DSS that they will not be submitting a bid for the joint HUSKY/Charter Oak Plan RFP. Initial responses are due to the state on Friday. Anthem’s concerns include inadequate funding for full-risk HUSKY and Charter Oak; advocates and other state officials have also been concerned about the programs’…
Read MoreThe mortgage crisis and medical debt
I was floored when I picked up the paper the other day and read that the Federal Reserve is bailing out Bear Stearns, the fifth largest investment bank in the nation. Until the moment it teetered on the brink of failure, Bear Stearns asserted that it had avoided crisis. I wasn’t upset because of the…
Read MoreCharter Oak update
HB-5617 – the “Charter Oak fix bill – passed the Human Services Committee yesterday with substitute language along party lines. The bill that passed includes mental health parity for the program, eliminates the requirement that enrollees be uninsured for six months to be eligible, reports on services delivered and the costs of care, Charter Oak…
Read MoreHuman Services Committee passes bill delaying HUSKY HMO contracting and delinking from Charter Oak
Today the Human Services Committee passed a stripped down version of HB-5618, An Act Concerning Revisions to the HUSKY Plan. The new language would delay HUSKY contracting with HMOs until July 1, 2009, delink procurement of HUSKY from the Charter Oak Plan, and provide for a study of recent changes to HUSKY including implementation of…
Read MoreCharter Oak/HUSKY update and notes from the bidder’s conference
DSS has posted an advocacy-style fact sheet about Charter Oak and opposing HB-5617 which would delay implementation to allow more thoughtful planning. HB-5617 will be heard in the Human Services Committee later this morning. The flyer includes several positive quotes about Charter Oak from letters and emails to the Governor’s office. But it leaves out…
Read MoreFree prescription drug samples less likely to go to poor or uninsured patients
$16.4 billion in free drug samples were distributed to US patients in 2004, up from $4.9 billion in 1996. Samples have been criticized for influencing physicians’ prescribing patterns among other concerns, but drug manufacturers have defended the practice by asserting that many of those drugs go to low-income and uninsured patients who might not otherwise…
Read MorePolicymaker Issue Brief No. 43 – 2008 Upcoming Health Issues for Connecticut
CT will face some important health policy issues this year including HUSKY, Medicaid, Charter Oak and Covering the Uninsured. For a summary, go to the CT Health Policy Project’s Issue Brief — 2008 Upcoming Health Issues for CT Posted by Ellen Andrews
Read MoreVote for your favorite among three current proposals to cover CT’s uninsured
Three proposals have been made by the Governor and legislative leadership to cover CT’s uninsured. Currently, the Governor’s charter Oak plan is ahead in on-line voting. For more information on the options, click here . Go to our on-line poll to vote for your favorite or suggest your own idea http://www.cthealthpolicy.org/surveys/200712/.
Read MoreOver 40 million Americans missed needed health care services due to cost
18.6% of American adults did not receive needed medical care in 2005 because they could not afford it, according to a new report by the CDC. 25 million did not get needed dental care, over 18 million missed needed prescriptions and over 15 million did not get medical care they needed because of cost. 6%…
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