Only one CT hospital makes social responsibility honor roll

Among Connecticut hospitals, only William Backus received A’s on health equity, the value of care, and health outcomes, according to the latest Lown Institute Hospital Social Responsibility Index. Backus ranked #71 among US hospitals overall. The Index scores over 3,000 US hospitals on their performance in responsibility to their community. Seventy-five US hospitals, including Backus,…

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CTNJ: OP-ED | Legislators Hear How RI Saved 2 Hospitals From Private Equity, Other Solutions to High Insurance Premiums

On Friday, in a forum sponsored by state Rep. Kerry Wood, six national and local experts gave legislators specific policy tools to help with health care market consolidation and rising drug prices that are driving up health insurance premiums. Legislators also got specific tools used by Rhode Island to avoid private equity abuses experienced in…

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CT residents over twice as likely to die of opioid or other drug poisoning than from alcohol

Connecticut ranked 17th lowest among states in alcohol-related deaths per capita, but seventh highest in opioid-related deaths in 2019, based on an analysis of data from SHADAC’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center. That year, Connecticut residents were 245% more likely to die from an opioid or other drug poisoning than from alcohol. (Opioid or…

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Legislative forum on drivers of rising health costs

Connecticut legislators will hear from experts on the drivers of rising health insurance premiums and options to control costs next Friday, September 24th at noon. The forum — Consolidation, Private Equity, and Drug Prices in Health Care Costs — is sponsored by Rep. Kerry Wood, Co-Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. The forum…

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CTNJ: Covered Connecticut is a good start, but needs tending

Policymakers were challenged this year to find an answer to voters’ demands for affordable healthcare coverage options. Both leading legislative proposals, a public health insurance option and restoring previous cuts to HUSKY parent coverage, had drawbacks and neither passed. The administration, together with the insurance industry, developed an alternative behind closed doors that did pass.…

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Covered Connecticut – Origins, Goals, Opportunities, and Concerns

Read the brief Covered Connecticut is a new program to cover uninsured state residents with no-cost health insurance coverage through Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance exchange. The program leverages federal subsidies, some of which are temporary, and an anticipated Medicaid waiver to offer state residents combined with state funds. Some services, missing from exchange…

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