New SIM summary online – consumer concerns remain

The administration’s federal SIM application for $64 million is finished. As the plan and application developed, consumer advocates sent five letters signed by dozens of independent advocates voicing concerns including weak consumer protections, incentives to deny necessary appropriate care, the need for nationally recognized standards, and the lack of independent voices in the process. Some…

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New to Book Club: Fixing Health Care Inside & Out

Our latest addition to the CT Health Policy Project Book Club offers very concrete guidance for practices and policymakers working to improve quality and access to care, while holding the line on skyrocketing health care costs. From the Harvard Business Review, Fixing Health Care Inside & Out is a great compendium of health care innovations…

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Join a tweet chat on CT’s SIM plan Wednesday

A community of CT social media health advocates hold regular tweetchats with the hashtag #hcsmct. A tweetchat is a public Twitter conversation, generally with a regular schedule, connecting people with common interests. Including the hashtag #hcsmct in tweets during the chat allows visitors to follow and participate in the discussion. Join us this Wednesday, Aug.…

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CT state employee plan premiums 25% more than US average

According to a new report, CT state employee plan premiums averaged $1,199 per employee last year, the 9th highest rate among states. State employees with single coverage paid 11% of premium on average, compared to 25% of all CT employee plans. Families averaged 15% of premiums for state employees compared to 32.7% for all CT…

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SIM administrators seeking planning consultants should avoid prior mistakes

State SIM administrators are soliciting bids for a new set of consultants to guide the implementation process. Given the problems with the SIM final plan development process, advocates offer these recommendations. This time: ·      Use an transparent, objective process that is open to all qualified applicants ·      Avoid any perceptions of political and other conflicts…

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CMS stopped reimbursing CT for new Medicaid eligibles in January

CT News Junkie reported today that CMS halted reimbursements for the newly eligible Medicaid members as of January 1st. The first quarter payment the state missed was $249 million, but the second quarter amount could be more as enrollment grew under the ACA expansion starting January 1st. According to DSS’s financial reports, the state’s expected…

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Fact checking CT’s uninsured numbers since the ACA

An article in today’s CT Mirror focuses on a question bouncing around CT health policy circles – what impact has ObamaCare had on coverage in our state? The answer – we don’t know. Current estimates by Access Health CT have caveats. Highly recommended reading —  especially click on the graphic.

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2014 Candidate Health Care Briefing Book online

  The CT Health Policy Project has posted our latest Health Care Briefing Book for candidates. The site includes eighteen short briefs on timely topics in Connecticut’s health care landscape. Topics include health care cost drivers, Access Health CT — Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, SIM — CT’s new plan for health care reform, and CT’s…

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Half of exchange enrollees were uninsured

A survey released yesterday conducted by AccessHealthCT found that 53% of people who signed up for coverage through the exchange this year were previously uninsured. The question asked if anyone in the enrollees’ household had insurance in the past year. Interestingly the percent of households previously uninsured differed little for those who enrolled in Medicaid…

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