Cost Cap finds drugs driving up healthcare spending, but we knew that, and their numbers are misleading

The latest analysis by Mathematica for the Office of Health Strategy’s plan to cap healthcare costs used a small slice of a small slice of Connecticut’s drug spending. We already knew, from other sources, that drug spending is a main driver of rising healthcare costs in Connecticut and the problem is skyrocketing prices. OHS’s analysis…

Read More

More doctors are moving to corporate and hospital employment, jacking up prices & new WI lawsuit

Movement of physicians from independent practice to hospital and corporate employment accelerated during COVID. By January 1st of this year, 74% of physicians in the Northeast were employed by hospitals or corporations according to a report by Avalere Health for the Physicians Advocacy Institute.  Half (52%) of Northeastern physicians work for hospitals and 22% for…

Read More

How CT can save $162 million in healthcare waste

An analysis of Connecticut’s commercial insurance markets finds we spent $9.45 per person per month on wasteful low-value care in 2019, according to a new report by VBID Health. Of the $162 million total, $24.5 million was from patient out-of-pocket costs. Low-value care provides no or minimal benefit to patients and is an important driver…

Read More

Most CT physicians take Medicare patients, but less than US average; implications for payment reform

At 84%, the large majority of physicians in Connecticut take new Medicare patients according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, while 91% take new privately insured patients. The US averages are 89% for Medicare and 91% for privately insured new patients. The analysis was of non-pediatric, office-based physicians in 2015 and 2017.…

Read More

CTNJ Op-Ed — Policymakers did little to lower healthcare costs this session

Healthcare costs featured prominently in CT News Junkie’s 2020 candidates’ survey. It’s very likely that candidates will hear the same concerns from voters again this year. Last year, policymakers accomplished little, and healthcare costs haven’t gotten any better since then. Incumbents will be asked what they did this year to provide some relief. Unfortunately, they…

Read More