Budget Process
Analysis: Life Saving Innovation at Alarming Prices
We do scientific innovation very well. New therapies — from anesthesia in 1850, antibiotics in 1928, organ transplants in 1960, to COVID vaccines now — are improving our lives and extending life expectancy. However, healthcare costs now consume 20% of our economy, and we aren’t getting our money’s worth. Complicating the issue, Pharma’s extreme drug…
Read MoreUpdated Advocacy Toolbox: How to make a difference, where to start, and how to get there
Just in time for the legislative session starting today, we’ve updated our CT Health Policy Advocacy Toolbox to help with your advocacy to make healthcare better in Connecticut. (Actually, we update it every month.) Healthcare policymaking in CT can be complex and frustrating. But you’re not alone and there is help. The comprehensive site covers…
Read MoreSurvey finds CT hospital collections policies allow lawsuits and denial of care
A recent survey by Kaiser Health News found that many US hospitals have aggressive policies for patients who can’t pay their bills. Policies include lawsuits, reporting to credit rating agencies, selling the debt to collectors, and even denying non-emergency care. Medical debt affects one in five US households and the average debt is $21,687. The…
Read MoreUpdate: Policy options to support competition and control healthcare prices
Download the fact sheet Download the updated resource list Healthcare service prices are the main driver of Connecticut’s rising health insurance premiums. The consolidation of hospitals and providers into large health systems has stifled competition, allowing prices to rise unchecked. Other states have taken action to protect competition in consolidated markets and it’s working. Connecticut…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Health insurance affordability review is good, but it’s no silver bullet
A movement to include affordability in the Insurance Department’s review of health insurance premiums is gaining champions. That’s a good thing. The best care is useless if you can’t afford it. Holding insurers accountable for lowering costs is important, but it’s not going to solve everything. We need to do much more to get costs…
Read MoreCT hospitals’ charity care varied widely last year, a bit more than US
Last year, uncompensated care at Connecticut’s 27 acute care hospitals averaged 1.8% of total expenses, according to the state’s latest report. However, that rate varied from 4.2% at Norwalk Hospital to 0.5% at CT Children’s. Uncompensated care is services provided that hospitals are not paid for. It includes charity care, which hospitals forgive from the…
Read MoreStudy finds Americans living in liberal states, like CT, live longer but we can do better
Recently, working-age Americans’ mortality has reversed its historic declines, largely due to lack of progress on heart disease, and rising deaths due to alcohol, suicide, and drug poisoning. A new study finds that from 1999 to 2019, mortality for adults ages 25-64 was lower in states with liberal policies, like Connecticut, and worse in conservative…
Read MoreDSS responds to advocates’ questions about HUSKY maternity bundles
More than one in three Connecticut births are covered by the HUSKY program, including some pregnancies at risk for poor birth outcomes. DSS has an ambitious plan to change the way providers are paid for those births. The goals are to improve equity, lower C-section rates, poor maternal outcomes, lower opioid-related pregnancy conditions, and reduce…
Read MoreStudy finds CT low value care is costly
About two percent of commercially insured Americans, including Medicare Advantage, received low value care costing $3.7 billion between 2009 and 2019, according to a new study. The researchers compared states on utilization of low value services and prices for that care. Connecticut has a lot of room for improvement compared to other states. Low value…
Read MoreAnalysis: New study finds 1 in 5 households has medical debt that averages $21,687
Having health insurance is no longer the protection it used to be. A pair of new studies shine a bright light on inadequate insurance and its consequences – medical debt. Read more
Read More