At an important Public Health Committee hearing Wednesday,
Senate
leaders from both parties testified together on a
slate
of seven bills that would make a great start to reforming health care in
our state. Among other things the bills address facility fees, price variation
that has no relation to quality, hospital consolidation oversight, EMR
assistance for providers, health care price, cost and quality transparency, accountable
care, and creates a badly needed CT Health Policy Commission, based on MA’s
successful model. Together these reforms both address the acute needs facing
our state, and build structures to anticipate and solve future problems, making
quality coverage affordable and building value throughout the system. The
bipartisan support is special cause for hope that CT can finally get beyond
flawed, agenda-laden health reform planning with something constructive. The
Senators, advocates, and others also
testified
in favor of a bill that would, among other things, create a study to
consider better uses for the federal SIM grant funding.
As for SIM, yesterday the steering committee approved
reductions in standards for Patient-Centered Medical Homes, considerably weakening
health assessment, health literacy, and other provisions. At
last
month’s steering committee meeting, SIM staff over-rode the recommendations
of the SIM consumer/provider/payer workgroup that spent months developing realistic
standards that work for CT. In response to providers on the committee, the
steering committee decided to expand practices assistance from only technical
assistance in transformation to also include out-right grants of SIM funds to
practices. In response to community organizations and others on the SIM
committee, the grant decision was also extended to community organizations
participating in SIM’s community connection program. Independent advocates have
raised c
oncerns
about ethics and conflicts of interest in SIM planning and funding.
