Consumers raise concerns with CT insurance exchange

Consumers and small businesses had a rare opportunity to share their concerns with CT’s health insurance exchange Friday. A standing room only crowd met with the exchange’s CEO, Kevin Counihan at a restaurant in Glastonbury. Christie Hager, HHS Regional Director, also attended. Comments focused on the lack of consumer and small business input to the…

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CT health reform update

The CT Health Policy Project has posted a summary of updates and context on CT’s progress toward health reform.

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PCMH workforce conference offers lessons for CT

Yesterday’s conference on patient-centered medical homes and workforce brought speakers from other RI, MA and Pittsburg together with CT programs to share best practices and lessons learned. Take aways included baking training into all activities and for every member of the team. It is also critical to begin training well before NCQA recognition. And training…

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Additions to candidate briefing book

New briefs have been added to our CT Health Policy Project briefing book for Connecticut candidates. New briefs include wellness programs, patient-centered medical homes in CT, comparative effectiveness research, and CT’s health care workforce. The candidate briefing book is part of cthealthbook.org, our site for CT health care system resources. Check often for more updates.

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CT exchange staff won’t negotiate with insurers on behalf of consumers

Staff of the CT Health Insurance Exchange have “opted to utilize an ‘any qualified plan’ approach” for determining which plans can be offered in the exchange. Proposed qualifications are minimal and generally only what is required by the Affordable Care Act. This decision is counter to the CT exchange’s own research. According to the market…

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Medicaid Council update

Lots of good news at Friday’s MAPOC meeting. DSS has significantly improved their redetermination process in response to huge backlogs that prompted a legal aid lawsuit. The dual eligible Health Neighborhood proposal’s behavioral health component has been improved by shifting from the controversial, administratively complex and fragmented co-lead proposal to a partnership. This is what…

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PCMH workforce conference Oct. 23rd

Patient centered medical homes offer exciting potential to both improve the quality of care and control costs. But this transformation of care delivery will require new skills and roles in CT’s health care workforce. A conference to explore these issues and CT’s readiness for delivery reform will be held October 23rd from 8am to 3pm…

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State innovation application posted

The state’s application to CMS for a $3 million State Innovation Models Grant is now online. If awarded, the grant would fund health care planning activities including hiring staff at state agencies and consultants. The project will work to align incentives among stakeholders to reform delivery and payment systems. The initiatives include coordinating data across…

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CT still earns a C+ on reform

Once again, CT health care thoughtleaders give our state a C+ on health reform. From the beginning of the CT Health Thoughtleaders Survey in February, CT has varied between C and C+. CT has always received a B for effort. In good news, grades for the CT Health Insurance Exchange improved since June with fewer…

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Join us for Consumer Conversations: the CT Health Insurance Exchange

January 1, 2014 every CT resident will be required to secure health coverage. The CT Health Insurance Exchange is being developed under the Affordable Care Act to be a fair, user-friendly marketplace for consumers and small businesses to buy decent coverage, hopefully at an affordable price. The Exchange has not heard consumer voices, does not…

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