The state Department of Social Services continued providing Medicaid coverage to thousands of people for more than a year without checking whether they remained eligible, as is federally required, according to a contractor who recently left the department.
Medicaid
Posted inHealth
DSS phone wait time drops (to 66 minutes)
Nearly two thirds of callers who wanted to speak to a worker at the state Department of Social Services hung up before getting through, but that, too, was an improvement over previous months. In September, 64 percent of callers who wanted to reach a worker hung up first, compared to 71 percent in August and 75 percent in July.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Ten things Dan Malloy thinks about health care
The latest in a series of interviews on health care with candidates for governor: As governor, Dannel P. Malloy said he’s managed to avoid the cuts to health care and social services that some counterparts in other states made. He says the care of those who most rely on the state weighs heavily on his mind. But the first Democratic governor in 20 years has also faced criticism for his handling of certain health care issues, including from some of the left-leaning advocates his party usually counts on.
Posted inHealth
Need to reach a DSS worker? Can you hold for 78 minutes?
More than a year after the state Department of Social Services changed its phone system, people who rely on it say it remains unacceptably difficult to reach a worker. Last month, callers looking to speak to a person waited on hold an average of 78 minutes. And 71 percent hung up first.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Ten things Tom Foley thinks about health care
The Republican candidate for governor talks assisted suicide, the need for more mental institutions, hospital changes, Obamacare, the cost of Medicaid, and why private sector thinking could help cure the state’s health care woes.
Posted inHealth
Op-Ed: Federal insurance and Obamacare: Why this birthday matters
Congress needs to correct the disparity between payments to health care providers by Medicare and Medicaid — a disparity that makes it hard for Medicaid patients to find medical care.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-Ed: Federal insurance and Obamacare: Why this birthday matters
Congress needs to correct the disparity between payments to health care providers by Medicare and Medicaid — a disparity that makes it hard for Medicaid patients to find medical care.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
Foley has lots of confidence, few details, on plans to fix CT budget
To say Tom Foley is keeping his cards close when it comes to his plans to fix state finances might be an understatement. The Greenwich businessman and Republican gubernatorial contender’s positions on key income and business taxes and public-sector wages are guarded at best.
Posted inHealth
Health system overhaul plan has Medicaid advocates worried
State officials are seeking millions of dollars in federal funds with the ambitious goal of redesigning how health care is paid for and delivered to the majority of Connecticut residents. But critics say a late addition to the application could significantly change Connecticut’s Medicaid program, in ways they worry could make it harder for poor people to receive care.
Posted inHealth
How much did Medicaid grow under Obamacare? Not as much as you’d think
Connecticut’s health insurance exchange says 129,588 people signed up for Medicaid from Oct. 1 through March 31. But figures from the state Department of Social Services show that enrollment in Medicaid grew by just over half that amount.
Posted inHealth
CT Medicaid enrollment at record high under Obamacare
Nearly one in five state residents is now covered by the Medicaid program, according to figures from the state Department of Social Services.
Posted inHealth
Proposed settlement reached in DSS Medicaid application delay lawsuit
The Department of Social Services is seeking approval to hire dozens of additional workers to comply with a proposed settlement to a class action lawsuit alleging that delays in processing Medicaid applications have left poor state residents waiting months to get coverage and care.
Posted inHealth
CT scales back Medicaid repayment rules for some recipients
Connecticut officials are scaling back the circumstances in which the state can seek repayment from the estates of Medicaid recipients when they die. This addresses what some say is a barrier to getting Medicaid-eligible people to sign up for the program under Obamacare.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Why telemonitoring makes sense for Connecticut’s chronically ill
The state should support advanced in-home telemonitoring services under our state’s private insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid programs.
