Search results for: cost cap
New report explains CT health disparities
Babies of black mothers in Connecticut are over four times more likely to die in their first year than babies born to white mothers, according to a new report from the CT Health Foundation. Black state residents die at 1.2 times the rate of whites. Overall Connecticut residents are among the healthiest in the nation,…
Read MoreFive healthcare issues to follow in 2020
What Connecticut can do in an election year, with a tight budget, in an unsettled economy, and Washington in gridlock Download the details ACOs and provider financial risk Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are large and growing systems that touch every aspect of healthcare. They make money by reducing their patients’ care costs. Unlike insurers, ACOs…
Read MoreBipartisan Insurance Committee forum finds a lot of consensus on potential reforms
Download the CTHPP presentation Yesterday the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Insurance Committee convened a forum on potential reforms to lower healthcare costs. Legislators invited David Seltz from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. Connecticut speakers included representatives from the insurance industry, providers, state officials, a foundation and advocates. A recurring theme was the need…
Read MorePublic comment open for CT health planning data
The state Department of Public Health is in the midst of planning for improving the health of every Connecticut resident in 2025. DPH regularly refreshes their plan through a very thoughtful process that is a model of inclusiveness and data-driven policymaking, especially for Connecticut. Other agencies should take note. Right now, the draft State Health…
Read MoreCT Health Policy Project’s 20th Anniversary: Progress, but lots of challenges ahead
Read the report Since 1999, when the CT Health Policy Project was founded, Connecticut’s healthcare landscape has changed in both predictable and unpredictable ways. Costs are rising faster than our economy is growing, and those costs are falling disproportionately on consumers. Experts are predicting another recession and it’s unclear if Connecticut’s healthcare landscape is ready.…
Read MoreCT Health Policy Project’s 20th Anniversary: Wisdom from Connecticut’s thoughtleaders
Read the report In celebration of the CT Health Policy Project’s twentieth anniversary, we asked wise and prominent stakeholders with very different perspectives in Connecticut’s health care system to reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of the last ten years and share their thoughts about our future. What is your best advice to someone just…
Read MorePCMH + risk scores suggest possible gaming or worse; Advocates call on DSS to delay expansion to protect members and taxpayers
A new analysis of PCMH + members’ risk scores finds unexplained increases compared to the control/comparison group that could signal ACO gaming of the system for financial gain and/or, far worse, a decline in the health of members in the program. PCMH Plus, a controversial new payment model, allows ACO (large health systems) to share…
Read MoreMotorcycle helmets save Connecticut lives; could save $207 million more
In a new analysis, researchers from CT Children’s Medical Center found that Connecticut motorcycle riders who crash are one and a half times less likely to be seriously injured or die in a crash if they are wearing a helmet but only about half are. The new report published in CT Medicine studied the 4,021…
Read MoreNew PCMH + plans overlook past problems
Wednesday DSS and Mercer unveiled their thinking about plans for Wave 3 of PCMH Plus, Medicaid’s controversial shared savings program. Results from PCMH Plus’s first year, Wave 1, were disappointing with increased state costs and little evidence of improvement in quality. Based on the problems identified in Wave 1, advocates made recommendations to fix those…
Read MorePublic option gone but good pieces remain
Negotiations over a public health insurance option in CT have broken down but other good parts of the deal remain. Reportedly, there is a budget agreement to restore HUSKY eligibility for some of the 11,000 working parents cut in 2016. DSS reports found that the large majority of the low-income parents cut from HUSKY were…
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