Search results for: cost cap
Shared savings math doesn’t add up, CCIP plans could undermine Medicaid
A new brief outlines the risk to taxpayers from Medicaid shared savings increasing health costs, as SIM is pressing. About half of Medicare ACOs spent more money on health care for members under shared savings last year. If Connecticut’s ACOs perform in Medicaid shared savings as they did for Medicare, CT taxpayers could lose as much…
Read MoreCadillac tax will affect 13.6% of single premiums in CT in 2018
Under the Affordable Care Act, in 2018 high cost employer-sponsored health plans will begin paying a hefty 40% tax, termed the Cadillac tax, on the value of the plan over specified threshold levels. A new report by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 13.6% of CT single premium plans and 11.9% of CT family plans…
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Medicaid — Connecticut has a lot to be thankful for
Fifty years ago today President Johnson signed the Medicaid program into law. The program now covers one in five Connecticut residents with efficient, quality care. Since switching from a capitated, insurer-based program to a self-determined, care-focused program in January 2012, costs are stable (down slightly) per person, quality is up (fewer people are going to…
Read MoreSIM underservice protections get a cool reception, weak ethics policy adopted
Thursday the Equity and Access Council delivered to the SIM Steering Committee a draft report with recommendationsto avoid underservice in SIM’s planned payment reforms. Advocates were successful in getting a provision in the SIM final plan that prohibited payment of shared savings to provider networks that systematically denied needed care to generate those savings. The…
Read MoreBudget implementer makes significant changes
Early this morning the House passed HB-1502– the 686-page bill that describes how the state FY 2016-2018 budget passed four weeks ago is to be implemented. But the bill also makes numerous substantive changes to the original budget. In addition to tax reductions for large businesses, the bill includes the implementer language to cut coverage…
Read More20,000 to 25,000 HUSKY parents lose coverage under state budget deal
According to a CT Mirror report, the budget approved by the legislature and Governor today eliminates coverage for up to 25,000 HUSKY parents with household incomes over 150% of the federal poverty level. The deal exempts pregnant women. While tragic for those families, the Governor’s proposal would have cut more parents and pregnant women at…
Read More87-page health bill goes to Governor’s desk
The House and Senate have passed SB-811, now on it’s way to the Governor. The bill includesprice and consumer cost notices and websites to help consumers shop for services, sets some limits on facility fees charged by hospitals and outpatient providers, adds to the factors and studies required in considering hospital purchases, and limits bills…
Read MoreCT conference on SIM payment reforms in other states
Yesterday the CT Health Foundation hosted an interesting conference highlighting SIM plans from leading states – VT, OR, MN, and ME. The conference started and ended with reports from CT’s DSS about our significant Medicaid successes in improving quality and access while controlling costs – and how that progress was only possible when we shifted…
Read MoreSIM responds to advocates’ Medicaid concerns
Monday the Lieutenant Governor responded to a letter signed by independent advocates signed by twenty independent consumer advocates and providers raising concerns about SIM’s plans for Medicaid. In her letter, the Lieutenant Governor agreed that CT’s Medicaid program has become a national model of success, improving access to care, raising quality and controlling costs. Those achievements resulted…
Read MoreCTNJ Op-Ed: Health Neighborhood cuts misguided
An Op-Ed in today’s CT News Junkie focuses on the Governor’s proposal to cut funding for innovative health neighborhood pilots to serve state residents eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. This program will improve the quality of care for Medicaid’s most costly aged and disabled members, providing significant savings to the state’s budget. The program…
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