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 for 23,700 HUSKY
parents, preserves funding to community health centers for future Medicaid
shared savings changes, more funding for nursing home employees
heavily
weighted toward unionized workers, allows DSS to pay nursing homes based on
patient acuity, delays some mental health coverage changes, removes property
tax exemptions for new off-campus properties bought by Yale-New Haven and
Hartford Hospital health systems, allows limited provider lists and cost-based
hospital rates for workers compensation care, concussion notices for athletes, an
ambulatory surgery center tax, expands coverage for autism treatment, changes
how hospital Medicaid rates are structured, changes to Medicaid case management
services, reforms Medicaid provider auditing, allows UConn grad students to
join the Partnership Plan for health coverage, insurance coverage for certain off-label
use of prescription drugs, expands reporting of impaired health care professionals,
makes changes to the medical marijuana program, and creates new Men’s Health
license plates.
The bill also includes a study by DSS and DPH due next June of
community-based health care service capacity and high-utilizers of emergency
dept.s.
