From the Book Club: An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back

This latest addition to the CT Health Policy Project Book Club should be required reading for everyone. I’ve been a health policy analyst for over twenty years and I learned something new on every page. I couldn’t read it in one shot – I kept throwing it down in disgust. The author is a former…

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CMS finalizes important patient-friendly informed consent payment proposal

CMS has finalized their proposed Medicare rule (regulation) for how hospitals are paid that includes a new measure assessing the quality of hospital informed consent documents given to patients before elective procedures. (The relevant section, Potential Inclusion of the Quality of Informed Consent Documents for Hospital-Performed, Elective Procedures Measure starts hereon p. 373 of the…

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Survey of state legislators’ values for health reform finds strong differences by party but some encouraging overlap

Both Democratic and Republican state legislators from across the US agree on the need to control health care costs, according to a new survey published in the American Journal of Public Health. However, other top priorities between the parties differ strongly. Republicans prioritized smaller government along with reducing costs while Democrats prioritize improving health equity…

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DPH launches website comparing CT quality and cost of hospital and nursing home care

Last week, CT’s Department of Public Health unveiled MONAHRQ, a web tool allowing consumers and other health care decision-makers to compare the quality, outcomes, utilization and costs of health care in our state. For example, Only three of CT’s 24 general hospitals are above average in patient ratings – Greenwich, Middlesex and Milford. Sadly, most…

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State policymakers hear how bioscience is generating jobs with health innovation

The growing Bioscience industry holds great potential to improve the region’s economy and health , according to speakers at “Bioscience Initiatives: Improving Health and Growing the Economy” at this week’s CSG-ERC Annual Meeting in CT. Panelists included Mostafa Analoui, PhD, Executive Director, UConn Venture Development, Mike Hyde, Vice President, External Affairs, The Jackson Laboratory, and…

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State health policymakers get the latest from DC and options to respond

At this week’s CSG-ERC Annual Meeting in CT, state policymakers from across the Northeast got updates from experts on the federal health care landscape, state options to adapt. CT’s Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman pulled it all together describing CT’s progress toward health reform. Mitchell Stein gave a detailed summary of federal activity including CHIP reauthorization…

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The Future of Medicine in the Human Genome Genomics — Making a difference in patients’ lives / By Mary Branham

From CSG-ERC’s Annual Meeting in Connecticut Mapping the first human genome in 2000 cost about $4 billion; today, it costs about $1,000. The cost has come down because of investment, and because of the important role genomics is playing in medicine today, according to Dr. Murat Gunel, a professor of neurosurgery, genetics and neuroscience at…

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Early look at exchange premiums finds Hartford premium trends modest compared to other US cities

A Kaiser Foundation very early look at 2018 health insurance exchange monthly premium proposals, subject to change, across 21 US cities predicts that Hartford consumers will do well next year. The report compares early rate filings for a 40 year old non-smoker making $30,000/year choosing the second-lowest silver plan. Silver plans are the most popular.…

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One in ten CT adults has high medical needs

Understanding high-need adults with complex conditions and their barriers to care are key to developing solutions that improve health and control costs. High-need adults have at least two chronic diseases and a functional limitation in their ability to care for themselves or perform routine daily tasks. A new report from the Commonwealth Fund outlines in…

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CT Medical Society standing up an HIE for the state

Miscommunication is blamed for thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in costs. One part of miscommunication involves providers not being able to access records for patients they are treating. Numerous state groups working to reform CT’s broken health care system over the last decade have urged policymakers to develop a Health Information Exchange (HIE)…

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