Lisa Freeman recently tried an experiment: Before having a medical diagnostic test, she tried to figure out what it would cost. “It took no less than five phone calls, and I still never got to the end of the thing,” she said. A major transparency law intended to change that is taking effect this year. How will it work in practice? Health care providers say it might be bumpy at first.
Hospitals
Posted inHealth
Five stories that can make 2016 a big year in health care
“I haven’t seen a time in my almost 10 years here in the state where there’s so much happening in health care,” says state Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri. Here are five health care stories to watch in 2016.
Posted inHealth
St. Francis names new president, succeeding Dadlez
An ob-gyn who recently earned a master of business administration degree, John F. Rodis will be the first physician to lead the 118-year-old hospital.
Posted inHealth
Nine things all hospital patients should know
Patient safety experts say there are certain things all patients should know when they’re in the hospital. Here are a few.
Posted inHealth, Money
How each hospital fared under the budget deal
Hospitals will receive $164.3 million in state and federal funds under the budget deal legislators approved Tuesday, restoring some of the funding Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cut from hospitals in September, as well as millions more in overdue payments. Here’s who gets what.
Posted inHealth
State approves Johnson Memorial Hospital sale
State regulators have approved plans for the parent company of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford to acquire the financially struggling Johnson Memorial Medical Center.
Posted inMoney, Politics
State leaders agree on size of the budget problem — almost
After one week of bipartisan budget negotiations, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders have agreed — almost — on the size of the task before then.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy, legislators optimistic after first budget session
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders hailed the first round of budget talks as a cordial first step toward a bipartisan solution, even if they have yet to agree on the scope of the state’s budget shortfall.
Posted inHealth
As health care changes, can independent hospitals survive?
As large hospital systems have grown in Connecticut, the state now has just seven hospitals that are not part of a bigger system or in talks to join one. Are the remaining independents holding out for the right suitor? Or do they see a path forward as independent hospitals at a time when more hospital leaders are taking the opposite view?
Posted inHealth, Money
CT’s hospital spending and taxes, explained
As state lawmakers debate the state’s treatment of hospitals, here’s a look at what Connecticut spends on hospitals, how it’s changed over the years and what the governor’s recent cuts to the industry affect.
Posted inHealth
In Windham Hospital service cuts, some see sign of the future
Most of Connecticut’s 29 hospitals are in or joining larger systems, raising the possibility that parent companies will seek to consolidate services rather than offering every type of care at each hospital in their network. Does the state have the proper oversight to address cuts in what services hospitals deliver?
Posted inHealth
Hospitals could face larger cut
The governor cut $192 million in Medicaid funding for hospitals last month, but the actual hit to hospitals could end up being 25 percent higher. The state is holding back additional payments that weren’t part of the cost-saving measure, and the governor’s budget office said decisions about whether to pay them will be “based on whether we have enough money to keep the budget in balance.”
Posted inHealth
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center names new CEO
James E. Shmerling, a longtime hospital executive, will become president and CEO of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford next month, the hospital announced Thursday.
Posted inHealth
Middlesex Hospital joins Mayo Clinic’s clinical network
Middlesex Hospital is joining a clinical care network run by the Mayo Clinic, an arrangement designed to give doctors at the Middletown hospital access to consultations with Mayo experts, hospital officials said Thursday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Restore the alarming hospital funding cuts
On Sept. 18, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered $103 million in cuts to the state budget, which had taken effect just three months previously. As reasons, the administration cited downward revisions in projected revenues due to unexpectedly low tax receipts and stock market weakness. In other circumstances, the rescission order might look like reassuring fiscal […]