State Partnership Plan losing money but still more expensive than average CT plan options

Download the report Connecticut’s most recent public health insurance option, the Partnership Plan 2.0, offers healthcare coverage to municipal employees. According to a new analysis by Brown & Brown Insurance, Partnership Plan premium increases have not kept up with costs. The very impressive analysis is based on Freedom of Information requests; very little information on…

Read More

CTNJ: Real Conversation Would Beget Lower Health Care Costs

I recently had an interesting conversation with a lobbyist for the insurance industry. We planned to talk about our narrow legislative issues to find any common ground. Predictably, we disagreed on some key points, but we agreed on a lot more. We agreed that it’s hard to get people across the health care system onto…

Read More

CT 4th best among states in dental health

An analysis by WalletHub finds that the dental health of Connecticut residents is better than all but three other states (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota) and the District of Columbia. We rank third on oral health but tenth on dental habits and care, which is confusing but far better than the converse. The analysis compared states…

Read More

CTNJ: If The COVID Vaccine Is Free For Patients, Who Is Paying For It?

Federal law ensures the COVID vaccine will be provided to every American at no cost. So who is paying for it? Because it’s healthcare, the answer is complicated and we are all paying for it – mostly through taxes and a bit through our insurance premiums. Read more

Read More

Book Club — Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters

I’ve never dog-eared as many pages in a book as Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters by Deborah Stone. It’s very trendy to be “data-driven” and assert that “science matters” but what gets counted and how it’s defined make all the difference. Numbers and statistics are nice, but only if they represent…

Read More

Governor’s budget includes drug cost control and exchange subsidies, but misses other health priorities

Released today, the Governor’s budget proposal for the next two fiscal years acknowledges the importance of addressing critical health priorities, especially during a pandemic. The document highlights the state’s public health challenges of funding and implementing COVID testing, treatment, and vaccination all while facing a severe economic slowdown, high unemployment, and increased demand for social…

Read More

CT Medicaid rates squeezed a bit but still higher than other states

A new comparison published this month in Health Affairs finds that Connecticut Medicaid provider payment rates lost some ground between 2012 and 2019, but they remain higher than the US average and well above most nearby states.  Primary care rates are highest relative to other states than other services. From 2012 to 2019, compared to…

Read More

What does the public really think about a public option? Two polls, and we still don’t know

Dueling polls released this week find Connecticut residents either love the idea of a public health insurance option or they are not big fans. Not surprisingly, the polls are sponsored by groups with dueling agendas and they don’t give details or survey question wording. According to a poll released Monday by Comptroller Kevin Lembo, 71%…

Read More

Half of CT hospitals not compliant with new requirement to post negotiated prices for care

Download the report As of January 1st, all US hospitals are required to prominently display on a publicly available website prices privately negotiated with payers for 300 services, under CMS’s Hospital Price Transparency Rule. Hospital “charges” have been available to patients but not the actual prices paid by insurers. CMS requires both a “display of…

Read More