HealthyCT

Nonprofit Obamacare Insurer Going Out Of Business

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HealthyCT, the state’s nonprofit health insurer on the exchange, will no longer offer individual health insurance plans after the group was placed under an order of supervision due to “hazardous financial standing” Monday. The order, issued by the state Department of Insurance, means that about 10 percent of Connecticut residents with health insurance policies bought through Obamacare will have to switch companies for next year — about 13,000 customers. To read the Courant’s report by Mara Lee click here.

HealthyCT

State’s Health Insurance Co-Op Predicts Profit In 2017

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Over a dozen of the cooperative health insurers that started under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have failed, but leaders of Connecticut’s co-op say it is on track to turn a profit next year. “We’re very viable,” said Ken Lalime, CEO of Wallingford-based HealthyCT, a member-run, nonprofit health insurance co-op. “There are a lot of stable pieces of” HealthyCT. The co-op is enduring when others have died off, he said, by strategically adapting to changes in the ACA, and diversifying its portfolio. About a third of its business is insuring individuals, a third is small group policies and a third is large group insurance policies, he said.

addressing health needs

Health Conference To Focus On Veterans, Aging And LGBT Issues

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Health risks challenging veterans, particularly those who have recently returned home from combat, is one of the topics of an upcoming conference for consumers and health care providers. The conference, “Better Health: It’s Your Health, Take Charge,” will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 3, at Foxwoods Resort Casino. CT Partners for Health, a coalition of dozens of stakeholders working to help consumers better understand health care, is organizing the event. Conference breakout sessions will address a wide range of topics, including caring for veterans. That discussion will focus on the health-related challenges veterans face after they return from combat zones.

Primary Care

E-Consults Quickly Connect Patients With Specialists

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Medicaid will reimburse some health centers in the state for providing patients with access to medical specialist through electronic consultations, which some providers believe will increase low-income patients’ access to care. “The impact is potentially huge,” said Dr. Daren Anderson, director of the Weitzman Institute, which is the research and quality improvement arm of Community Health Center Inc. (CHC). CHC is a Middletown-based network of 13 health centers that includes facilities in New Britain, Stamford, Norwalk, Clinton, and Old Saybrook. An e-consult enables a primary care doctor to contact a specialist—for a second look at patient’s echocardiogram, for instance—and securely send part or all of a patient’s medical records electronically. The specialist then replies to the primary care doctor within a few days (but more typically within just a few hours), reducing the need for a patient visit to the specialist.

Fines & Sanctions

Access Health Enrollment Starts Sunday; Uninsured To Face Steeper Fines

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Open enrollment for consumers to buy health insurance through the Access Health CT marketplace begins Sunday, and 2016 will bring considerably steeper fines for consumers who lack insurance. Access Health CT (AHCT), now in its third year, enrolled close to 100,000 individuals in private insurance plans in its first two years, according to Andrea Ravitz, director of marketing. About 500,000 enrolled in Medicaid through AHCT, during the first two years. The marketplace aims to enroll between 105,000 and 115,000 in private plans by the end of open enrollment, Ravitz said. AHCT concentrated on attracting new enrollees its first two years but this year it has been focusing on retaining enrollees, she added.

Women's Health

Report: Women In CT Denied Some Mandated Health Benefits

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Women in Connecticut have been denied health insurance benefits in violation of the federal Affordable Care Act, according to a study by the National Women’s Law Center. Connecticut is one of 15 states included in the study, which analyzed the 2014 and 2015 health plans of companies that provide coverage under the ACA in state marketplaces. It found violations in all 15 states and concluded that they are likely occurring nationwide. According to the report, Connecticut women have been denied coverage for the following: breastfeeding counseling and education after two months following delivery, infertility treatments after the age of 40, sterilization procedures, emergency birth control, and maintenance care for such things as lupus, HIV, and hormones after breast cancer treatment. Coverage was also denied for transgender transitions.