Medicaid Managed Care Council update

According to DSS at today’s Medicaid Managed Care Council, the number of dental providers participating in the CT Dental Partnership grew by 20.8% from December to June. There are now 924 dental providers at 541 locations across the state caring for HUSKY and SAGA consumers.

DSS also reported that there were only 366 HUSKY appeals filed in 2007 and even fewer, only 174, in 2008. It is not clear that consumers know that they have the right or know how to appeal treatment denials.

SAGA medical expenses per member per month declined by 0.6% in the fiscal year that ended June 30th after rising 7% in 2008 and 8.2% in 2007, probably because spending in the program is capped and enrollment grew by 12% this year. The average per member per month cost in the program is $424.47. Pharmacy costs decreased by 6.5% because, after carving out pharmacy benefits, drug company rebates rose significantly. Other states have also increased rebate recoveries after carving out pharmacy benefits. The SAGA provider panel has increased by 181 providers this year and utilization of physician services is up 33% from last year. The increase in primary care access may be the reason that ED visits are down by 7% in the program.

Charter Oak enrollment is up to 8,979 as of July 1st, however 824 people stopped paying their premiums in June and dropped out of the program.
Ellen Andrews

Take the Courant poll on Governor’s health care vetoes

Today’s Buzz poll at the Hartford Courant website: Was Governor Rell right to veto health care bills?

New Book in the Club

It’s Too Hard to be Sick in America: Stories of Chronic Illness is new by CT’s own Jennifer Jaff, Executive Director of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness. The book details the stories of people struggling with long term illness, including Jennifer’s own story. No statistics, no analysis and no political spinning can make the case for fundamental system reform the way narratives from the real world do. Read the review by Karen Nepomuceno, CT Health Policy Project intern.

CSG/ERC regional health updates

The latest health updates from the Eastern Region of the Council of State Governments is online.

Governor vetoes SustiNet and Partnership bills

Late today Governor Rell vetoed both the SustiNet bill, which would have created a board to develop a plan to cover CT’s uninsured , and the Health Care Partnership bill, which would have self-insured the state employee plan and allowed municipalities, small businesses and non-profits the option to buy into the plan. The Governor estimates that the bills would have significant costs to the state, although she did not consider the costs of doing nothing and did not incorporate any estimates of probable federal funding in her estimates. She was concerned that the SustiNet board did not include representatives from the insurance industry, hospitals and business. In an accompanying Executive Order she creates a 15 member Health Care Reform Advisory Board to make recomendations in response to federal reforms. The majority of members are to be appointed by the Governor or her commissioners; she includes no consumer representation. The bills now go back to the General Assembly for a potential override.
Ellen Andrews

eHealth privacy drafts ready, share your thoughts

Monday, July 20th at 10am in Room 1C of the Legislative Office Building eHealthConnecticut, the CT Health Policy Project and AARP-CT will hold a forum to collect consumer feedback on draft privacy policies and a universal consent form. eHealthCT is creating a pilot health information exchange for CT Medicaid members to go live this fall, but the privacy work done in this process will serve as a foundation for future exchanges in CT. The exchange will allow providers to access health records, history, test results, treating providers, prescriptions, etc. electronically saving time and money while improving quality and reducing errors. Protecting patients’ privacy and the security of data is paramount. We are planning an opt-in policy for the exchange, but that will require a substantial public education campaign. A group of consumer advocates and providers has been working with attorneys to draft the policies, but we need your help. The forum builds on input we received at our April eHealth privacy forum. The drafts will also be available on eHealthConnecticut’s website for comment. For more information on eHealth, visit our resource page.
Ellen Andrews

CT Voices seeking budget analyst

CT Voices for Children is hiring a Senior Policy Fellow for Economic and Fiscal Analyst to work on family economic security and state/federal fiscal analysis. CT Voices is an advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of all CT’s young people and their families by advocating for strategic public investments and wise public policies.