Rest of US catching up with CT – Medicaid managed care doesn’t work

Two Health Affairs blog posts highlight the disappointments states are having with their capitated Medicaid managed care programs. Managed care across the US is growing fast, making big profits for private insurance companies, promising improved health outcomes and lowering costs. But CT found exactly the opposite effect when we shifted away from capitated managed care…

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PCMH+ update – DSS still plowing ahead despite lack of monitoring or evaluation

Despite DSS’s declaration that Wave 1 of PCMH Plus is a “substantial success”, there was nothing meaningful to support that view at MAPOC’s Care Management Committee meeting last week. Lacking information, DSS has rushed ahead anyway to significantly expand the program by 174%, raising enrollment from 66,325 to 181,902 this month. PCMH Plus is DSS’s…

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Updated data from DSS call center – wait times are 107 and 105 minutes, not 2 minutes

In response to a Freedom of Information request, advocates learned last week that 56% of callers waiting to talk to a human at DSS’s benefits center chose to hang up in both March and April of this year. That’s probably because average wait times for the benefits center were 107 and 105 minutes, in March…

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ACA Medicaid expansion benefits to CT include fewer uninsured, lower ED use, access to behavioral healthcare

A new analysis by the CT Health Foundation outlines the “unqualified success” of CT’s HUSKY expansion. In 2010 CT was the first state to exercise the Affordable Care Act option to expand Medicaid to low income, childless adults, labelling the new population HUSKY Part D. The expansion was largely responsible for cutting CT’s uninsured rate…

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Medicaid missing data concerns

Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on concerns with Veyo, the state’s new transportation contractor, and DSS operations performance, especially ongoing call center problems. Unfortunately, we are getting even less data than in the past. Veyo’s presentation did little to counter the landslide of complaints from consumers and providers about the transportation system and missing data…

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Working parents can keep HUSKY coverage

The consensus state budget passed late yesterday includes full restoration of eligibility for current HUSKY parents. Over 13,000 working parents with incomes up to 155% of the federal poverty level ($32,209 this year) will keep coverage under the HUSKY program. Also in the budget is funding to cover out-of-pocket health costs for low income seniors…

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Calls needed to save healthcare for 13,000 working parents

Unless legislators act soon, 13,000 working parents will lose HUSKY coverage this coming January 1st. Sally Grossman, one of those parents with two small children, runs her own house painting business. According to Sally, “Every year I do a little better. But if I earn over $28,000, I lose my health insurance.” Click here for…

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State Scorecard finds CT does fairly well, but poorly in Avoidable Hospital Use and Cost

The latest Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard finds CT’s performance across our health system ninth among states, unchanged from last year. While good, we can do much better given our rankings in personal income, education and overall high health status. We are 32nd among states in Avoidable Hospital Use and Costs, down by three from last…

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Births to very young girls declining, CT rate low but towns vary

A new CDC analysis finds that births to girls ages 10 to 14 reached a record low in 2015 and 2016 at 0.2 per 1,000 population. CT was among 8 states with the lowest rate; Mississippi was highest at 0.7 per 1,000. DPH’s vital statistics reported 15 births to CT girls under age 15 in…

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