Healthcare Cabinet sets state agency context for recommendations

At yesterday’s meeting, the Healthcare Cabinet heard from ten state agencies that all touch on health. They were asked to report on how they were saving money, improving the quality of care, and innovating to improve the health of state residents. DSS got twice as much time as everyone else, with good reason. Among the impressive initiatives there were a few trends – individualizing interventions, especially for high-cost, high-need patients, working with communities and consumers collaboratively, making care affordable, protecting and supporting families, targeting homelessness and ED use, using data and evidence, and making better use of limited resources. After hearing for months about innovations from other states, it was very helpful to hear about promising initiatives we can build on here. This could be the beginning of breaking down silos that have stymied progress in the past. At next month’s meeting on July 12^th we will begin working on recommendations for reform in Connecticut.