Health Report Card
Book Club: Recoding America – Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better
If you’ve ever muttered under your breath about the inefficiency/waste/frustration/etc of government at all levels, you have to read Recoding America – Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better, by Jennifer Pahlka. I don’t think I’ve ever dogeared as many pages in a book. While the author explores…
Read MoreAnalysis: What to do about private equity in healthcare?
The news is full of Prospect Medical Holdings, a private-equity fund, laying waste to three Connecticut hospitals. State policymakers are looking to create guardrails so that this doesn’t happen again. But we were warned two years ago and policymakers didn’t act. Read more
Read MoreWebinar offers tools to improve prescribing
Download the slides and watch the webinar recording Connecticut, like other states, are struggling to improve appropriate prescribing while lowering costs. In Friday’s webinar, Greg Low, RPh, PhD, offered Mass General’s experience of what works to improve physician prescribing at their ACO. Greg is the Manager for Pharmacy Operations at Mass General Brigham Health Plan.…
Read MoreCT ranks ninth worst in ED wait times
A new analysis by Becker’s Hospital Review of CMS data finds that patients wait an average of 186 minutes to be seen in a Connecticut emergency room. The national median was 162 minutes. The study covered April 2022 through March 2023. Connecticut hospitals varied considerably in average wait times from 98 minutes at Lawrence &…
Read MoreCT again among healthiest states overall, but with big areas of concern
Connecticut ranked 4th healthiest among states in this year’s America’s Health Ranking, from the United Health Foundation. We were the best state in climate policies, childhood immunizations, and adult dental visits. But we were in the bottom on other indicators. Connecticut is in a very healthy region of the US, with New Hampshire (#1), Massachusetts…
Read MoreICER seeking nominations for New England evidence review council
The Institute for Economic and Clinical Review (ICER) is seeking nominations for new members to the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC). In my time on the New England CEPAC, it was an exciting dive into learning new things with a team of exceptional experts and colleagues from across the region.…
Read MoreCT commercial insurance enrollment down 5%; several possible explanations
Download the report Last year, total enrollment in Connecticut’s commercial managed care plans was 1,666,972. That was down by 85,019 from 2021 at 1,750,904, according to the this year’s Consumer Report Card from the CT Insurance Department. The drop in enrollment was almost entirely from large group plans with over 50 members and spread across…
Read MoreNew data finds CT obesity rates grew by 25% from 2011 to 2022
Download the brief New data from the CDC finds that three in ten Connecticut adults (30.6%) were obese last year, up from one in four (24.5%) in 2011. While too high, Connecticut’s rate was 10th lowest among the states. The US average last year was 33.6%, up 21% from 2011. Connecticut’s rate was typical of…
Read MoreState Health Compare finds CT access to care is good but costly
Connecticut residents have very good access to healthcare, but care is unaffordable for too many. 93% of CT residents have a usual source of care According to updated health metrics, in 2020-2021, Connecticut ranked third best among states in the percent of residents with a usual source of care. Having a usual source of care…
Read MoreReport finds Hartford Hospital got $78 million more in tax breaks than they invested in communities, 2020
In 2020, Hartford Hospital received $78 million more in tax breaks than they paid out in charity care and community investment, their “fair share” deficit, according to a new Lown Institute report. Hartford has the 19th largest deficit among the 1,773 US hospitals included in the study. According to the report, that $78 million could…
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