Health Reform
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…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed – Drug Innovation Argument Cuts Both Ways
In his recent op-ed, John Burkhardt of Pfizer misses important points when he asserts that the governor’s proposed tax on excessive prescription drug price increases will harm innovation and jobs in Connecticut. He ignores that rising drug prices are making health insurance unaffordable. Overpriced drugs inhibit other innovation and job growth across Connecticut’s economy. He…
Read MoreConnecticut individual plans are profitable
Download the report here Individual coverage in Connecticut, , has been more profitable than most states. From 2011 through 2018, each month $55 of premiums went to profit in Connecticut, the 15th highest profitability among states and above the US average of $47. Individual plans in Massachusetts and New York were far less profitable, while…
Read MoreCost Cap finds hospital system costs driving healthcare spending, but we knew that
Download the report In a surprise to no one, the first analysis by the Cost Cap project finds that inpatient and outpatient hospital services are a main driver of rising healthcare spending in Connecticut. Hospital and drug costs have been identified in multiple studies as the main drivers of rising health costs in our state.…
Read MoreAccessHealthCT report offers roadmap to address disparities
Access Health CT has published a new, very well-researched description, both quantitative and qualitative, of Connecticut’s health disparities and COVID’s impact. The graphic on page 2 following the lives of two boys, Marcus and Tyler, born on the same day but into very different circumstances, makes the impact tangible. I’ll be using it as a…
Read MoreOP-ED | Making the Public Option Better
Commercial health insurance premiums in Connecticut are the sixth highest in the nation and they continue to grow faster than inflation. While we’re making progress, it’s too slow. A public health insurance option to compete with private plans is getting a lot of attention from legislators and it makes sense conceptually. But Connecticut consumers deserve…
Read MoreState 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 MoreCTNJ: 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 MoreGovernor’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 MoreWhat 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