CT ozone pollution among worst in US

Fairfield is the 19th most ozone polluted US county for 2017-2019 according to the American Lung Association’s latest report on the nation’s air quality. All but two Connecticut counties earned an F for the number of high ozone days. High ozone levels cause inflammation in the lungs, decreased lung function, and susceptibility to respiratory infections…

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OP-ED | When Data Becomes An Excuse To Prevent Change

Data is important. The drumbeat for data-driven policymaking in health care isn’t wrong. Policy decisions that aren’t informed by independent, valid analysis can cause more harm than good. But it’s important to know when we have enough data so we can get to work. Read more

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Response: Lobbyist uses seniors and people with disabilities to protect drug company profits

Reading William Smith’s CT Mirror opinion, I was worried that my state had passed draconian laws that were harming the health of seniors and people with disabilities. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Our anti-discrimination laws are still in place and functioning. . . . True discrimination against seniors and people with disabilities happens every day…

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Book Club — Change: How to Make Big Things Happen

Change: How to Make Big Things Happen by Damon Centola should be required reading for advocates. How do big shifts in behavior or beliefs happen? That’s our job and we’ve been missing the most important tools (unless you are a social network scientist). We’ve learned the lessons of sticky messages and nudges that make better…

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CTNJ Opinion: Remember Public Health’s Value After COVID Is Gone

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused a bright light on the weakness of the U.S. public health system. Countries with strong public health systems fared much better in controlling the virus’ spread. America used to have a strong public health system. From 1900 to 2000, life expectancy rose by 30 years. Contrary to public opinion, it…

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Governor’s consultant report recommendations for Medicaid savings are baseless

It’s not in the headlines but the biggest source of potential savings, $200 million, proposed by the Governor’s controversial report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to save money in state government to  is to go back to failed Medicaid financial risk models. There are two problems with the proposal. First, the financial risk models don’t…

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HUSKY COVID update – new enrollments lag, lots of money to providers, and telehealth is very popular

At Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting, we learned that while new HUSKY applications recovered last fall from its drop last spring, they fell again sharply this January and February. The reasons for the volatility during a serious recession are unclear. DSS focused on how HUSKY has responded to the COVID pandemic. Now covering over a million…

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Some long-term care costs high in CT, but not all

Download the report The latest survey of long term services and supports care costs found Connecticut prices for residential care are among the highest in the US. But in-home care is surprisingly reasonable, close to the US average. Last August, annual costs for Connecticut assisted living and semi-private rooms nursing home rooms were the 5th…

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Opinion: Innovation isn’t helpful if we can’t afford it

In today’s CT Mirror, Jay Gironimi rebuts an opinion supporting the pharmaceutical industry and explains how extreme drug prices are hurting patients. Jay is supporting the Governor’s bill to tax excessive drug price increases years after the companies have recovered their research costs. Jay has Cystic Fibrosis and needs 10-12 medications daily so he can…

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