As hospital leaders warn of potential job cuts and service reductions in response to state funding cuts, the six- and seven-figure pay packages of Connecticut hospital executives have emerged as a point of contention — to some, a red herring to distract from the state’s fiscal policy, while others view it as a way to point out misplaced priorities at nonprofit hospitals at a time when executive pay and income disparities have become a rallying cry in national politics.
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Stories about health care access and affordability in CT, as well as abortion, COVID, health equity and disparities, health systems and social determinants of health.
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Posted inHealth, Politics
USDA tells states to process food stamps again, but no guarantee of benefits
WASHINGTON – In an abrupt change of policy, federal officials have instructed state agencies, including Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, to resume processing food stamp benefits for October. But with a possible shutdown of the federal government looming, that doesn’t assure that anyone will receive them at the beginning of the month.
Posted inHealth
IOM: Teamwork key to reducing medical diagnostic errors
Almost every American will experience a medical diagnostic error, but the problem has taken a back seat to other patient safety concerns, an influential panel said in a report calling for widespread changes.
Posted inEducation, Health
Report: CT has made progress on child trauma, but gaps persist
Connecticut has made dramatic advances in providing help for children exposed to trauma, in some cases, emerging as a national leader in addressing a problem that research has linked to significant mental and physical health consequences. But more work is needed, according to a report released Tuesday.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, others grill Aetna, Anthem chiefs about mergers
WASHINGTON – Skeptical members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday questioned Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini and Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish about their plans to merge with other large insurers, citing concerns about the consolidation’s impact on consumers.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
GOP calls for bipartisan talks, labor concessions, to reverse hospital cuts
Minority Republicans in the state legislature called Tuesday for bipartisan negotiations to reverse last week’s $190 million cut to hospitals. And House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, also called for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to approach state employee unions for concessions.
Posted inHealth
Premiums grow modestly for employer insurance coverage, but deductibles grow faster
The cost of employer-sponsored insurance premiums grew by 4 percent this year, continuing a trend of relatively modest growth, but the share of medical costs patients pay when they get care continued to rise far faster, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust.
Posted inHealth
St. Mary’s Hospital to join national chain, St. Francis
St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury announced plans to join a national nonprofit Catholic health care chain that will soon include St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, the latest in a flurry of moves by Connecticut hospitals to join larger networks.
Posted inHealth, Money
Market jitters prompt Malloy to make $103M in emergency cuts
Responding to a weak stock market, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered $103 million in emergency cuts Friday, including a major hit in Medicaid payments that will ultimately cost hospitals about $190 million in state and federal funds.
Posted inHealth
Votto retiring as Hospital for Special Care CEO; Ricci to ascend
Dr. John Votto, the longtime chief executive of New Britain’s Hospital for Special Care, plans to retire Oct. 1. He will be succeeded by Lynn Ricci, the organization’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Posted inHealth
GAO: Still work to do on Obamacare state exchange IT systems
More than a year after launching, state-run health insurance exchanges, including Connecticut’s, still hadn’t fully completed key information technology functions, federal auditors said in a report released Wednesday.
Posted inHealth
Census: CT uninsured rate down to 6.9 percent
The U.S. Census Bureau’s estimates released Wednesday indicate that the uninsured rate fell in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2014. Connecticut was one of six states that, along with Washington D.C., had an uninsured rate at or below 7 percent.
Posted inHealth
Medicare yet to save money with heralded payment model
A high-profile Medicare experiment pushing doctors and hospitals to join together to operate more efficiently has yet to save the government money, with nearly half of the groups costing more than the government estimated their patients would normally cost, federal records show.
Posted inHealth, Money
Few who lost Medicaid have purchased insurance
When state lawmakers scaled back Medicaid eligibility for thousands of low-income parents to help balance this year’s budget, proponents argued the parents could buy deeply discounted coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange. But so far, fewer than 20 percent of those who lost coverage at the start of this month have signed up.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Congress scrutinizes Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna deals
WASHINGTON– Congressional Republicans are blaming a wave of mergers and other types of consolidation by hospitals, pharmaceuticals and insurers, on the Affordable Care Act. That new interest in consolidation on the health care field is bringing unwanted political attention to the proposed Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers.
