hospitals
Analysis: Are Connecticut Hospitals Losing Money? It Depends
Our state’s hospitals are hemorrhaging money according to the Connecticut Hospital Association. They report losses of $164 million last year. But state officials are pushing back, saying hospitals aren’t telling the full story and hospitals are the main driver of rising healthcare costs in Connecticut. It all depends on how you look at it. Read…
Read MoreInsurance Committee passes bills prohibiting anti-competitive health system practices
This morning, the Insurance and Real Estate Committee approved two bills that prohibit huge healthcare systems from using their monopoly power to jack up prices and insurance premiums. The Committee’s bill passed unanimously; the Governor’s bill that also includes an out-of-network price cap passed overwhelmingly. The Committee passed a similar bill last year. It passed…
Read MoreCT Medicaid costs stable but hospital spending needs monitoring
Download the report Sources below Connecticut Medicaid per member costs are stable and growing slower than other states. CT Medicaid per member costs are lower than all but 27 other states, just below the median. But hospital spending increases could erode that progress. Medicaid is not the driver of rising state budgets, growing less than…
Read MoreLegislators hear voices calling for consolidation protections to lower healthcare costs
Download our testimony Yesterday’s public hearing testimony was largely supportive of two bills to prohibit anti-competitive clauses in hospital system contracts with payers. Seventeen testimonies favored the bills, while eight opposed, mainly calling for more transparency and consistency in contracts. Several testimonies (here, here, here, here, and here) favoring the bills came from state residents…
Read MoreInsurance committee to hear bills that mitigate consolidation and lower healthcare costs
Download our testimony One of the main drivers of Connecticut’s rising healthcare costs is consolidation in the healthcare market, making health coverage increasingly unaffordable for consumers, employers, and businesses. The consolidation of hospitals and providers into large health systems in Connecticut has stifled competition, allowing prices to rise unchecked. Large health systems use anti-competitive contract…
Read MoreOp-Ed: Things to like in the Governor’s budget proposal
This is new for me and I may be alone, but I found a lot to like in the Governor’s budget. This fall the administration must have been listening to complaints about their disappointing healthcare record. Their new budget proposal starts to turn that around, tackling the drivers of soaring healthcare costs – prices for…
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 healthcare quality just average, and not improving
The latest federal National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is not flattering for Connecticut. Across 159 measures of quality, Connecticut was above the US average on 39, below average on 38, and average for the remaining 82. In worse news, we aren’t getting any better. Compared with…
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