Health reform dashboard reflects uncertainty, good and bad trends

March’s CT Health Reform Dashboard update reflects good, bad and uncertain policy movement in CT and DC. Most troubling is the level of mistrust among stakeholders in our state’s health system first recognized formally by out-of-state consultants to the Health Care Cabinet. This problem undermines even well-intentioned efforts to make progress, that otherwise would receive universal support. Other issues affecting the dashboard include proposals to cut Medicaid both in CT and DC, and recent erosions in the new Medicaid payment experiment with disappointing plans for a weak, late evaluation of the first wave, undermining consumer notices to accommodate conflicted ACOs, and efforts to make MAPOC committees irrelevant. In good news, leadership-sponsored bills to control drug costs and Cabinet deliberations have legs, and the most controversial Cabinet recommendations are not reflected in legislative proposals.