Search results for: cost cap
Exchange active purchasing bill has a public hearing
The legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee has raised SB-11, An Act Concerning the Duties of the CT Health Insurance Exchange, and will hold a public hearing on the bill next Tuesday. SB-11 requires the CT Health Insurance Exchange to active purchase health coverage for the estimated one in ten state residents who will purchase…
Read MoreGovernor’s budget update proposal
The Governor’s midterm budget adjustment proposals include maintaining the increase in primary care provider rates that began last year costing the state $15 million in FY 2015 and $36 million in future years. The Affordable Care Act provided full federal funding to cover the cost of those rate increases for 2013 and 2014 only. Those…
Read MoreAnnapolis CSG/ERC state visit – lots of opinions on the insurance exchange’s problems, Medicare hospital waiver, and SIM
It’s been a fascinating CSG/ERC state capitol visit in Annapolis over the last two days. In meetings with policymakers I’ve heard a range of opinions and emotions on MD’s insurance exchange – from optimism that eventually it will start working to calls to scrap it and revert to the federal exchange. By all accounts, the…
Read MoreMedicaid Council update – very good news on PCMHs
At today’s Medicaid Council meeting we heard an impressive presentation by DSS and CHNCT, Medicaid’s administrative services organization, about the success of person-centered medical homes (PCMHs) in CT’s program. At the end of the year 211,206 Medicaid consumers were being cared for in a PCMH – about one in three CT Medicaid recipients. 65% of…
Read MoreNational health spending remains low, enough to drop slightly as percent of GDP
In very good news, CMS actuaries have found that national spending on health care grew only 3.7% in 2012 – the fourth year of low growth and less than the rate of growth in the overall US economy at 4.6%. Per capita health spending grew by only 3%. The low rate caused the share of…
Read MoreCSG/ERC annual meeting highlights
This year’s CSG/ERC annual meeting in Puerto Rico this month included several health panels and meetings. The first was an initial report on Value over Volume 2.0, an update on our first report from 2009 on payment reform for state/provincial/territorial policymakers with tools to both improve quality and control costs. An ACA Roundtable generated a…
Read MoreMaryland’s SIM proposal emphasizes quality improvement, community resources and engagement
Maryland’s newly released SIM proposal includes many attractive features CT advocates have been championing for our state. Quality improvement and sophisticated analytical tools to support quality are MD’s priority and constitute most of their proposal’s content. The foundation of their plan is to “integrate patient-centered care with community-based resources while enhancing the capacity of local…
Read MoreCT Health Policy Roundtable: CT’s APCD tomorrow
Join national and state experts tomorrow for a Roundtable to learn more about the potential for Connecticut’s new All-Payer Claims Database in health care planning, improving health care quality, capacity and promoting health equity. The Roundtable is sponsored by the CT Health Policy Project, the CT Center for Patient Safety and Access Health Analyticsand made…
Read MoreSIM update – moving in a better direction
Yesterday’s SIM meeting showed some positive movement toward a system that respects and protects consumers. Recognizing the potential harm to consumers, SIM leaders now intend to monitor for under-treatment and inappropriate treatment, and the payment model no longer includes capitation, both serious concerns raised by advocates. However advocates remain troubled that there is no…
Read MoreCT among ten highest states in Medicare drug spending
A new analysis by C-HIT finds that CT seniors on Medicare are spending more than consumers in most other states on prescriptions. CT elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to use brand name drugs than generics, especially in high income towns in Fairfield county. Within the state, Meriden has the highest per beneficiary prescription…
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