research
Medicaid update: Quality improving but lots of work to do
Friday’s Medicaid Council meeting focused on quality performance in the program. The good news – ED visits and readmissions continue dropping across the program, although community health centers’ performance remains a problem Well-child visit and lead screening rates are higher than the national average Routine care is increasing and inpatient care is decreasing The bad…
Read MoreCT up to third healthiest state this year
According to America’s Health Ranking, Connecticut is the third healthiest state in the union this year, up from fifth last year. We are doing far better than our 13th ranking in 1992 but down from 2nd in 2008 and 2006. The ranking by the United Health Foundation has compared states on 34 health indicators since…
Read MoreICER seeking new members of comparative effectiveness panel
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has opened nominations for their New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council. The council, one of three in the US, is composed of leading clinicians, patient and public representatives, methodologists, and health economists. The group meets three times each year to consider ICER effectiveness reports on the…
Read MoreAnthem keeps lion’s share of CT insurance market
The best-kept secret in CT healthcare – the Insurance Department’s Consumer Report Card on Managed Care Plans – is out again this year covering 2017. Once again, Anthem has the lion’s share of the market at 46%. ConnectiCare lost almost 55,000 members between 2016 and 2017. About two out of three insured people in Connecticut…
Read MoreCTNJ: CT uninsured rate up, especially for higher income households
New Census data on the uninsured is always a big event for policy types. This year most expected the numbers to rise, but the data had a surprise. Read more
Read MoreAnother reason to be glad HUSKY fired managed care
New favorite quote – “If you have a dumb incentive system, you get dumb outcomes.” Charlie Munger, quoted by 46brooklyn A new analysis by 46brooklyn highlights the extra costs to Medicaid managed care programs of drug industry middlemen. Ohio’s Medicaid program pays $224 extra in markups to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) hired by managed care…
Read MoreConnecticut’s uninsured rate up, reversing four-year trend
New numbers from the US Census Bureau report that 194,000 or 5.5% of Connecticut residents were uninsured last year. That number is up 22,000 from the year before when the uninsured rate was 4.9%. The new data breaks a trend of fewer uninsured that began with implementation of coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act…
Read MoreCTNJ op-ed: Health disparities are real and new payment schemes are probably making them worse
Connecticut is a very healthy place; we rank fifth healthiest among states. But not all state residents share in that good fortune; too many suffer from health inequities. Very good people across the state are doing important work promoting better health for everyone. However some emerging policies, both government and private sector, are working at…
Read MoreLidocaine patch leads CT Medicaid drug spending
According to the latest data visualization from 46brooklyn, CT’s Medicaid program is spending a lot on lidocaine patches. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that relieves nerve pain. Over the last three available quarters (Q3,4 2017 and Q1 2018), Lidocaine patches have topped CT Medicaid’s list of 25 most costly medications. This medication isn’t on the…
Read MoreNo CT hospitals make US News 2018 Honor Roll
No Connecticut hospital made US News’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll or their Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll this year. Four are nationally ranked in at least one specialty or performance area – Yale-New Haven (#1 in CT), Hartford Hospital (#2), St. Francis (#3) and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. US News ranks hospitals based on patient…
Read More