HUSKY parents cut – costs outlined, rally planned

The Governor’s budget proposed cutting 37,500 working parents from Medicaid in 2014. Families affected have incomes between 133 and 185% of the federal poverty level — $25,975 to $36,131 for a family of three this year. The administration argues that those parents will be able to purchase federally subsidized coverage in the new insurance exchange.…

Read More

Exchange Board approves Essential Health Benefits standard – false choice between benefits and cost

Yesterday the CT Health Insurance Exchange Board approved CT’s version of the Essential Health Benefit (EHB) package under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As of January 1, 2014 individual and small group plans will have to cover at least the EHB services. The ACA required that the EHB include at least ambulatory patient services, emergency…

Read More

Webinar: engaging patients to lower costs and improve care

As states implement health delivery reform, many are intrigued by the promise of shared decision making. Not only is shared decision making central to patient engagement but it is also a paradigm shift in informed consent. Washington, Vermont and Maine have taken the direct step of promoting shared decision making through legislation and pilots. Several…

Read More

ACA caps on consumer spending would have helped 139,100 CT consumers this year

A report released today by Families USA finds that caps on what consumers have to pay for health care in the Affordable Care Act, if they were in effect this year, would have helped 139,100 Connecticut residents and saved families almost $250 million. Adjusted to today’s dollars, the caps limit consumers’ health costs over $5,950…

Read More

The final word – HUSKY ASO cost less than HMOs – or it should have

At Friday’s Medicaid Oversight Council meeting Mercer actuaries gave us the final comparison of the costs of the HUSKY program under the ASO/PHIP arrangement compared to the costs under capitated HMOs. We learned that in 2008 during the PHIP period, when the Governor removed any financial risk from the HMOs and the program ran as…

Read More

DSS outlines options to move HUSKY away from capitation – or not

At yesterday’s Medicaid Care Management Oversight Council (formerly known as the Medicaid Managed Care Council), DSS outlined three policy options to restructure HUSKY’s financing. The options were a response to direction in the latest budget to move HUSKY from a fully insured, capitated system to a self-insured, ASO model; the budget included approximately $75 million…

Read More

SustiNet Day at the Capitol

Wednesday was SustiNet Day at the Capitol, where hundreds of supporters gathered to show they are in favor of SustiNet and health care reform. Participants wore red t-shirts from the healthcare4every1 campaign with the campaign’s logo on the front and “SustiNet: Health Care We Can Count on” printed on the back. Participants sat in the…

Read More

FAQs on OHS’s Primary Care Roadmap

Download the FAQs here Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy has developed a Primary Care Roadmap to support primary care in Connecticut. OHS is accepting public comment on the draft Roadmap until the close of business Friday, January 14th. To send comments, email Tina.Hyde@ct.gov and put “Primary Care Roadmap” in the subject line. You should get…

Read More

Top Stories of 2020

A year ago, our predictions for 2020 missed all but the recession. COVID has us giving up on predictions, so we’ll just take a look back at our top stories of this year. Advocacy Toolbox now online — Updates include specific, real world tools for legislative, administrative, and state budget advocacy, how to change public…

Read More

Fact Check: Are primary care doctors underpaid?

Download the Fact Check A statement was made in a recent Connecticut state public meeting that primary care physicians are paid less than specialists. The statement was made a recent Technical Team meeting for the Office of Health Strategy’s cost cap project considering a substantial increase in spending on primary care. The facts, however, are…

Read More