HUSKY
New 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 MoreCT primary care redesign: What the evidence says
Early in 2023, Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (DSS) embarked on an ambitious planning process to make significant changes to primary care delivery and payment in our state’s Medicaid program. DSS’s planning committee meeting materials and recordings are available here. In Connecticut, there have been differing perspectives about the status of primary care, Medicaid and…
Read MoreCT Healthcare Explained — what’s next?
Hopefully, you’ve found our short Sunday Health Policy Minute emails informative and helpful. This is just the beginning of CT Healthcare Explained’s efforts to help make sense of our state’s unreasonably complex system. Hopefully, you’ve accessed the site resources including explainer videos, Basics, and Deeper Dives on the current seventeen topics. Consumers, policymakers, clinicians, students,…
Read MoreHealthcare access for CT residents with developmental disabilities Speaker Series
About 45,000 Connecticut residents have a developmental disability. Compared to Americans without disabilities, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are five times more likely to be in poor health, half as likely to get a check-up, have lower rates of blood pressure checks, flu shots, oral health care, and screens for cancer, cholesterol, vision, or…
Read MoreAnalysis: Limiting the Metrics We Use to Track Healthcare is Cheating
The quality of healthcare in Connecticut is average at best. There is a strong consensus that provider payments should be contingent on performance and quality measures, called value-based payment, or VBP. But the consensus ends there. Read more
Read MoreReport estimates public coverage not available for 56,000 CT noncitizen residents next year
A new report by the Urban Institute estimates that 67% of Connecticut’s uninsured noncitizen residents won’t be eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, or health insurance exchange tax credits (AccessHealthCT) coverage next year, although they pay taxes. Most noncitizens with insurance coverage are covered through employment. Without expansions of eligibility, 56,000 Connecticut residents will remain uninsured next…
Read MoreAnalysis: 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 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 MoreOp-Ed: HUSKY coverage for immigrants is the right, and the smart, thing to do
Immigrants, in Connecticut and across the US, are the most likely population to be uninsured. These are our workers, neighbors, and taxpayers. We’re all safer, healthier, and richer when everyone is covered. It the right thing to do for them, but if that’s not enough, it’s also the right thing to do for all of…
Read MoreLow or no cost health insurance open enrollment ends soon
Connecticut residents have until next Sunday, January 15th to sign up for health insurance through Access Health CT. About 100,000 Connecticut residents get their health insurance through Access Health CT and 70% get financial assistance to afford coverage. Two thirds of uninsured Americans qualify for free or subsidized coverage; they just haven’t signed up. Free…
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