healthcare markets

According to a report released today, in 2019 the US health system spent an extra $1.2 billion on price increases for seven drugs that were not supported by clinical evidence. Enbrel led this year’s list costing Americans $403 million extra for an 8.9% net price increase, after accounting for rebates. The Unsupported Price Increase report…

Download the report here Health benefits in Connecticut are costly and rising faster than inflation. Last year, total employer-sponsored health insurance premiums in Connecticut were the sixth highest among states for both single and family coverage. Connecticut workers paid 7.8% more for single coverage and 4.3% more for family plans than other Americans. Although Connecticut…

The State Comptroller’s Office is undertaking payment reform for the very costly state employee health plan without public accountability or transparency. The controversial plan to pay for health care in bundles and reward high quality providers for the plan’s 250,000 members could be a gamechanger, but it could also fail. The problem is that we…

Healthcare is critical to Connecticut’s wellbeing but navigating health policy is complicated and confusing. The Connecticut Health Policy Project is considering a new project for 2021 to foster understanding about health policy in our state. We plan to build on this year’s Advocacy Toolbox but widen to anyone who wants a better understanding of how…

Download the report While total premiums, deductibles, and the workers’ share of premiums for Connecticut employee health coverage are higher than the US average, they have generally grown less quickly and consume less of our incomes than for other Americans from 2010 to 2019. Connecticut employer health coverage total premiums, employee share of premiums, and…

The President was right – healthcare is complicated. There are lots of reasons, but a big one is language. What something is called can add to or lessen understanding. Sometimes it can be deceptive, giving the impression of a more acceptable definition than the truth. It rarely works for long, but a lot of harm…

Several comments submitted on the Office of Health Strategy’s plan to cap healthcare costs during the public comment period raised serious concerns. The concerns echo those raised in previous unanswered letters signed by dozens of advocates. Comments were submitted by CT legal services programs, Gaye Hyre on behalf of the advocate letter writers, and one…

A new data set and report from RAND finds that Connecticut hospital prices paid by commercial plan were 215% of Medicare in 2018, varying from 144% for UConn Health to 282% for Stamford Health. If commercial plans had paid the same rates as Medicare that year, consumers would have saved $510 million. While high, Connecticut…

The latest survey of 500 US healthcare executives by the Numeroff & Associates finds that only 10% of revenue is at financial risk and that rate has not changed in the last three years. In previous surveys executives predicted that they would have a much larger share of revenue at financial risk by now. Just…

The Office of Health Strategy (OHS) rejected concerns been raised by stakeholders and some Cost Cap committee members that the Cost Cap on healthcare spending will be implemented at least a year before reporting on quality performance. Concerns center on the possibility of lowering costs by lowering the quality of care to achieve the ambitious…

Unjustified price increases for seven drugs in 2019 cost US healthcare $1.2 billion, CT can remedy this

To make health premiums affordable, CT must address input costs

CTNJ OP-ED | New Health Plan for State Employees Needs Transparency

Help us build a CT health policy learning hub

CT workers’ health benefits cost more, but growing more slowly and take less of our incomes

CTNJ Op-Ed: Labels matter in healthcare, especially the misleading ones

Public comments critical of OHS’s Cost Cap plan

Commercial plans pay Connecticut hospitals 215% of Medicare prices, but that’s better than most states; No evidence of Medicaid or Medicare cost shifting

National survey of healthcare executives finds population-based/capitated payment models are rare and aren’t growing

OHS Cost Cap committee retreats on quality, providers driving the delay