uninsured
CT hospitals’ charity care varied widely last year, a bit more than US
Last year, uncompensated care at Connecticut’s 27 acute care hospitals averaged 1.8% of total expenses, according to the state’s latest report. However, that rate varied from 4.2% at Norwalk Hospital to 0.5% at CT Children’s. Uncompensated care is services provided that hospitals are not paid for. It includes charity care, which hospitals forgive from the…
Read MoreAnalysis: New study finds 1 in 5 households has medical debt that averages $21,687
Having health insurance is no longer the protection it used to be. A pair of new studies shine a bright light on inadequate insurance and its consequences – medical debt. Read more
Read MoreNumber of uninsured CT residents continues down despite COVID
Download the report The latest numbers from the US Census on US health coverage last year find that there were 184,000 uninsured Connecticut residents (5.2%) in 2021, down 23,000 from 2019 (at 5.9%). Both years were far below 2013, before implementation of the Affordable Care Act, when 333,000 or 9.4% of state residents were uninsured.…
Read MoreCT ranks 3rd in health system performance, but there’s lots of work to do
Connecticut’s health system performance is the third best in the nation, according to the latest Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard. COVID strongly influenced state’s performance; Connecticut ranked tenth among states on seven measures including COVID mortality, health system stress, and vaccination rates. There is a lot of room for improvement in Connecticut’s health system. Sadly, Connecticut…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed — Policymakers did little to lower healthcare costs this session
Healthcare costs featured prominently in CT News Junkie’s 2020 candidates’ survey. It’s very likely that candidates will hear the same concerns from voters again this year. Last year, policymakers accomplished little, and healthcare costs haven’t gotten any better since then. Incumbents will be asked what they did this year to provide some relief. Unfortunately, they…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-ED: How much do CT hospitals spend on administration? No one knows
There’s a growing consensus that hospital prices are the main driver of rising healthcare costs and insurance premiums in Connecticut. The research lays the blame on consolidation in the market. Read more
Read MoreAnalysis: CT hospital finances during COVID’s first year
Download the report Download the extracted data In 2020, Connecticut hospitals’ revenues exceeded expenses by 2.61% or $325 million. Hospitals averaged 1.9% of expenses in uncompensated care, less than the US average. Top hospital executives averaged $2.6 million in total compensation. Hospitals paid $1.3 billion in fees to corporate parent health systems. Large health systems…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed – The Brainard Fund still making a difference after 64 years
In 2010, I got a call that advocates only dream about. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving had a dedicated fund to pay medical bills for Hartford area residents who couldn’t afford them, and they wanted my help directing the money to people most in need. The good news is that the Brainard Fund still…
Read MoreCTNJ: Covered Connecticut is a good start, but needs tending
Policymakers were challenged this year to find an answer to voters’ demands for affordable healthcare coverage options. Both leading legislative proposals, a public health insurance option and restoring previous cuts to HUSKY parent coverage, had drawbacks and neither passed. The administration, together with the insurance industry, developed an alternative behind closed doors that did pass.…
Read MoreCovered Connecticut – Origins, Goals, Opportunities, and Concerns
Read the brief Covered Connecticut is a new program to cover uninsured state residents with no-cost health insurance coverage through Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance exchange. The program leverages federal subsidies, some of which are temporary, and an anticipated Medicaid waiver to offer state residents combined with state funds. Some services, missing from exchange…
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