Help Wanted: SIM soliciting consumers, advocates and providers for next round of workgroups

SIM is recruiting consumers, advocates and providers for workgroups to implement the administration’s health reform plan. SIM has been criticized for excluding critical stakeholders, especially consumers and advocates, in developing the original reform plan that is to cover at least 80% of all state residents in five years with a controversial payment model.  Advocates are…

Read More

Exchange affordability measure gutted in committee

In yesterday’s Insurance Committee meeting, SB-11was amended to delay CT’s insurance exchange negotiating premiums with insurers and changed “shall” to “may”, essentially making the legislation irrelevant. The exchange has refused to negotiate with insurers in the past, arguing among other things that it was too early to worry about high premiums. Since last year, exchanges…

Read More

Encouraging Medicaid spending projections

CT expects our state share of Medicaid spending to drop, actually drop, by $247 million from this fiscal year to next, according to a new analysis. In fact, it is projected that it will take about two years to climb back to current year spending levels. While spending per capita dropped (and quality improved) in…

Read More

SIM update – more consumer concerns

Yesterday’s SIM steering committee was not encouraging for those hoping to see real consumer involvement. The long-awaited workgroups will only have 25% (plus or minus) consumer and advocate representatives. In addition, they expect anyone appointed to be a supporter of the final SIM plan, and to agree to “champion” the recommendations of the workgroup, even…

Read More

Active purchasing bill public hearing

There was an active exchange in today’s public hearing on SB-11, a bill that would direct CT’s health insurance exchange to negotiate premiums with insurers on behalf of consumers. Advocates, providers and a legislator testified in favor that passage of SB-11 would make coverage more affordable for consumers and small businesses, noting that all our…

Read More

Book Club — The Why Axis – how economic incentives work in the real world

In the latest addition to the CT Health Policy Project Book Club — They Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life – the authors believe that findings from economic experiments conducted in labs with undergraduates playing symbolic games do not translate into actionable lessons for the real world. Gneezy and List…

Read More

Exchange active purchasing bill has a public hearing

The legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee has raised SB-11, An Act Concerning the Duties of the CT Health Insurance Exchange, and will hold a public hearing on the bill next Tuesday. SB-11 requires the CT Health Insurance Exchange to active purchase health coverage for the estimated one in ten state residents who will purchase…

Read More

SIM update – answers, sort of, and further delays in starting work

On Monday, advocates received answers to our questions about the SIM final plan – sort of. We did learn that they are not considering pure capitation as a payment model at this time and that any plans for Medicaid payment changes will go through the Medicaid Council – both good. Unfortunately answers to the other…

Read More

New exchange numbers – good news but lots of questions

CT’s health insurance exchange has enrolled 121,983 people into coverage, exceeding next month’s goal. In other good news, CT is beginning to catch up to other states in Medicaid enrollment – 71,318 (58%) of those enrollments were into Medicaid, 22,335 (31%) of those would have qualified for Medicaid without the ACA. The exchange estimates that…

Read More

Yale Law Student conference on exchanges

Saturday the Yale Health Law & Policy Society held a fascinating conferenceon health insurance exchanges – early challenges and opportunities. Speakers included academics, advocates, state officials and private consultants. Focusing across the US, speakers highlighted the differences between states, and between the federal exchange, state-run exchanges, and the models between those two. Speakers addressed concerns…

Read More