insurance
CT middle of the pack for doctors
Connecticut ranks 29th in a new analysis on the Best and Worst States for Doctors by Wallet Hub. Physicians are seventeen of the twenty highest paid US workers. Connecticut tied for 45th worst for the highest malpractice award payouts. We rank 15th in our Medical Environment, which includes the quality and safety of hospital care,…
Read MoreBristol Health Cares explores advocacy in CT healthcare
A recent episode of Bristol Health Cares features a conversation with Kurt Barwis, President and CEO of Bristol Health and Ellen Andrews, of the CT Health Policy Project. Bristol Health Cares is a wide-ranging program with guests ranging from providers, community leaders, to innovators about navigating healthcare and answering questions. The conversation touched on the…
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 MoreConnecticut health care coverage continues slow shift from private to public coverage
Download the report The latest numbers from the US Census on US health coverage in 2022 found that, as in the past, most Connecticut residents are covered through an employer-sponsored plan. Publicly-funded Medicare and Medicaid each cover about one in five Connecticut residents. While employer-sponsored coverage has slowly declined since 2008, public programs have grown,…
Read MoreAnalysis: Governor’s healthcare budget is a mixed bag
In his new budget proposal, Gov. Ned Lamont and his administration have continued their commitment to making healthcare in Connecticut more affordable. They understand healthcare’s large and growing burden on state residents, employers, and taxpayers. They also understand the challenges, given Connecticut’s historically poor record on reforms. Some proposals make sense, and some are more…
Read MoreCT smoking costs total $4.9 million over a lifetime
A new analysis by Nerd Wallet finds that smokers in Connecticut cost an extra $4.9 million over a lifetime or $102,883 per year on average, the 4th highest rate in the US. Only smokers in New York, the District of Columbia, and Maryland have higher costs. Costs include not only out-of-pocket costs for cigarettes, but…
Read MoreNo evidence to justify price increases for eight of top 10 most costly drugs
ICER’s latest Unsupported Price Increase report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review finds that, last year, eight of the ten most costly drugs in the US that raised net prices well over the rate of general inflation, had no new clinical evidence of effectiveness to justify the increases. The increases on just these…
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 MoreICER fair access report finds improvements but problems with transparency
ICER’s third annual Barriers to Fair Access report found that most prescription drug coverage policies met fair rules for patient access. This is an improvement over previous years suggesting that transparency and public sunlight works. But the report also found that policies needed more transparency and are too complex. Policies on which patients are eligible…
Read MoreBook Club: We’ve Got You Covered
I wasn’t looking forward to reading yet another book promoting yet another idea to solve America’s broken healthcare system. But it’s my job, so I dove into We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care by Liran Einav and Amy Finkelstin. I’m a convert now – mostly. The first half of the book is the…
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