uninsured
Summer reading — Rough Sleepers
I thought I understood healthcare for the homeless, but I had a lot to learn. Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People describes Boston’s Healthcare for the Homeless Program by following Dr. Jim O’Connell’s career of caring for people who live, and sleep, on the streets. He ended up…
Read MoreReport estimates public coverage not available for 56,000 CT noncitizen residents next year
A new report by the Urban Institute estimates that 67% of Connecticut’s uninsured noncitizen residents won’t be eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, or health insurance exchange tax credits (AccessHealthCT) coverage next year, although they pay taxes. Most noncitizens with insurance coverage are covered through employment. Without expansions of eligibility, 56,000 Connecticut residents will remain uninsured next…
Read MoreOp-Ed: HUSKY coverage for immigrants is the right, and the smart, thing to do
Immigrants, in Connecticut and across the US, are the most likely population to be uninsured. These are our workers, neighbors, and taxpayers. We’re all safer, healthier, and richer when everyone is covered. It the right thing to do for them, but if that’s not enough, it’s also the right thing to do for all of…
Read MoreAnalysis: Life Saving Innovation at Alarming Prices
We do scientific innovation very well. New therapies — from anesthesia in 1850, antibiotics in 1928, organ transplants in 1960, to COVID vaccines now — are improving our lives and extending life expectancy. However, healthcare costs now consume 20% of our economy, and we aren’t getting our money’s worth. Complicating the issue, Pharma’s extreme drug…
Read MoreBarriers to Fair Access Report prompts insurers to improve access to 11 drugs
There’s a lot of very appropriate focus on the unfairness of unwarranted drug prices. But an equally important key to patients accessing those drugs is the fairness of insurance policies. To keep premiums affordable, insurers must balance, even encourage, appropriate to access care, while deterring overtreatment and excessive prices. ICER, the nation’s leading value assessment…
Read MoreLow or no cost health insurance open enrollment ends soon
Connecticut residents have until next Sunday, January 15th to sign up for health insurance through Access Health CT. About 100,000 Connecticut residents get their health insurance through Access Health CT and 70% get financial assistance to afford coverage. Two thirds of uninsured Americans qualify for free or subsidized coverage; they just haven’t signed up. Free…
Read MoreCT 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…
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