HITE CT considering scaling back to secure messaging, easing privacy concerns

CT’s quasi-public entity charged with building a health information exchange for the state is considering scaling back from an overly ambitious agenda to focus on more feasible goals. At HITE-CT’s May meeting, the Board discussed focusing on secure messaging for now. As secure messaging essentially replaces the current FAXes of health information shared between individual…

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Comments on dual eligible proposal center on behavioral health co-lead

Comments at Friday’s Complex Care Committee meeting focused on the late addition of requiring a behavioral health co-lead to DSS’s proposal to manage care for CT’s dual eligible. The pilot proposal would create five health neighborhoods, a collection of local providers across the care continuum, working as a team to coordinate care for about 5,000…

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CT Health Insurance Exchange unknown in CT

The most important job of the CT Health Insurance Exchange is educating the public and gaining their trust. Read Kevin Galvin’s blog post at www.ctexchangewatch.org to see just how big that challenge is.

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Insurance Exchange Board meeting notes

The CT Health Insurance Exchange Board met last week – not much happened. Small business owner, Kevin Galvin, and a consumer who has struggled with health care and insurance access gave very moving public comment to start the meeting. There were lots of updates but no actual substantive information. The committee reports were interesting –…

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CT drops back to a C on health reform

This month Connecticut health care thought leaders gave our state a C on health reform, erasing the C+ bump in last month’s survey. Connecticut also earned a C for effort. Patient-centered medical homes join Medicaid as the bright spots, earning a B and C+, respectively. Medicaid is the only area that received any A grades…

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Fascinating presentation at Health Care Cabinet

Today’s Cabinet meeting featured a presentation by Capitol District Physicians Health Plan, an Albany-based, nonprofit, physician-led health plan, that is succeeding in the triple goals of reducing costs, improving quality of care and addressing population health. Their CEO, a cardiologist, and VP of Underwriting described the innovations that led to their success including patient-centered medical…

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Medicare/Medicaid dual eligible reform plan update

On Friday, the Medicaid Council passed the recommendations of the Complex Care Subcommittee on DSS’s application for an integrated care demonstration program for people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. The committee recommended that the Council endorse DSS’ application with the condition that providers be rewarded based on performance on quality measures; the amount they…

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Exchange fix bill dies in Senate

The bill to bring the CT Health Insurance Exchange into compliance with federal regulations died on the Senate calendar last night as the session ended. The bill would have added two consumer and two small business representatives to the Board’s membership and given the State Health Care Advocate a vote. Currently there are no voting…

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CT Health Reform Dashboard – CT up to 12.1%

CT has jumped ahead in progress in health reform to 12.1% of the tasks completed, according to the May CT Health Reform Dashboard. This is up from 10.8% last month. While we are closing in on the major January 1, 2014 deadline for many reforms, much remains to be done. At this rate, it will…

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Risk is all about perception, and that shapes health decisions

Making good decisions, about our health and everything else, revolves around perceptions of risk, according to speakers at yesterday’s annual Donaghue Foundation conference. David Ropeik, author of How Risky Is It Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Always Match the Facts, and Brian Zikmund-Fisher, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan,…

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