CSG ERC is on Facebook

CT’s regional, multi-branch state policymaker support organization, CSG/ERC, is now on Facebook. The Council of State Government’s Eastern Region provides state policymakers with the latest information on critical policy topics, skill building, leadership training, and opportunities to exchange ideas and best practices with colleagues from around the region. CSG/ERC’s Health Policy Committee is chaired by…

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Advocates call on SIM to adopt state Code of Ethics

A letter was sent yesterday from independent consumer advocates to SIM leadership calling for SIM to follow CT’s Public Officials and State Employees Guide to the Code of Ethics, to protect the integrity of both SIM contracting and larger health reform efforts in our state. The advocates are asking for these protections now, before major…

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H&R Block report finds half of ACA subsidy recipients will have to pay IRS back; uninsured penalties average $172

A new analysis by H&R Block finds that 52% of taxpayers nationally who received subsidies last year to purchase coverage in the exchanges will owe the IRS an average of $530 for overpayments. The “settlement” is to reconcile insurance subsides paid based on estimated earnings during the year with actual earnings. On the positive side,…

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More on budget cuts – it makes no sense

Providers and advocates detailed the potential impact if the Governor’s budget proposals are adopted in a CT Mirror article published today. Heading the list of counterproductive cuts is the proposal to derail Medicaid efforts to coordinate care for the most costly and fragile members, expanding the successful model that reversed the HUSKY mess under managed…

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Troubling Medicaid, SIM updates

Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on eligibility, renewal changes and implementation with a very helpful primer on the process. There is no clear answer to why Medicaid membership has dropped by 34,232 since October, but the transition to MAGI income rules and renewal delays to protect consumers from lapses in coverage are probably part of…

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New issue brief examines impact of Governor’s proposed Medicaid cuts

A new CTHPP issue brief explores the Governor’s budget proposals for the Medicaid program, CT’s largest coverage plan. The brief describes the costs of replacement coverage from the insurance exchange for the 34,000 HUSKY parents who would be cut in the Governor’s proposal. The brief also puts perspective on the cuts compared to savings in…

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Governor proposes deep cuts to Medicaid

Updated February 19 Despite strong evidence of cost control and improving quality in the Medicaid program, today the Governor has proposed significant cuts to both eligibility and provider payment rates. The Governor has proposed cutting 34,000 low income parents off the HUSKY program. Parents in families of three with annual incomes as low as $28,000…

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Provider associations urge support to continue CT Medicaid gains

An Op-Ed in today’s CT Mirror urges policymakers to protect Medicaid in the upcoming biennial budget. The Op-Ed, signed by associations representing hospital, nursing homes, home health, and physicians, emphasizes the important gains made recently improving care provided in the growing program, and asks legislators to continue to support those efforts.

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CT Mirror looks at Medicaid spending – per person down, but total spending up – and that’s OK

A new analysis of CT’s Medicaid spending by CT Mirror outlines 5 things everyone should know. My top 5, below, overlap the Mirror’s.      1.   Per person spending is down, especially among newly eligible childless adults      2.   Total spending is up – because we have a lot more people in the program…

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Because Science — new blog makes science accessible, unravels myths

The gap between science literacy and science awareness prompted two Yale infectious disease and immunology grad students to start Because Science, a new blog that makes science easy to understand for non-scientists. Science news can be scary if context and nuances aren’t included. With the blog, they want to de-mystify scientific concepts and promote science.They’ve…

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