Disparities

Medicare May Help Seniors If Advantage Plans Drop Doctors

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Next year, seniors with private Medicare Advantage insurance policies whose doctors leave their plan may be able to leave, too, under a new Medicare rule. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversee Medicare Advantage programs, will create a special three-month enrollment period in any state where insurers make network changes “considered significant based on the affect or potential to affect, current plan enrollees,” according to an update to Medicare’s Managed Care Manual. The special enrollment period – if granted by CMS – would allow Medicare Advantage members to switch out of their plans and join traditional Medicare or another Medicare Advantage plan whose provider network includes their doctors. The mid-year special enrollment period wasn’t an option in 2013 when more than 32,000 UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members in Connecticut were affected by the company’s decision to drop thousands of doctors from its network of providers. The Fairfield County Medical Association sued the company to stop the terminations but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Veterans' Health

GAO Report: VA Provides Inconsistent Treatment To Veterans With Depression

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides inconsistent treatment to veterans with depression and may be underestimating the number of vets who suffer from the condition, according to a government watchdog agency. The VA also needs to do a better job monitoring veterans who are prescribed antidepressants and in tracking suicides, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO analyzed VA data from the 2009 through 2013 fiscal years and found inconsistencies in the way veterans were treated and medical records were kept. It also found that the VA’s own clinical guidelines were not always followed. VA officials did not respond to requests for comment about the report.

Veterans' Health

VA Wait Times For Health Care Improve

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Ninety-six percent of veterans awaiting appointments at VA medical centers in Connecticut are being seen within 30 days, new data show, with Connecticut performing slightly better than the national average. At Connecticut Veterans Administration medical centers, there were 51,281 scheduled appointments on Oct. 1, according to new data (based on a one-day snapshot) released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Of those, 96 percent – or 49,063 appointments – were scheduled within 30 days of when patients wanted to be seen or medically needed to be seen. There were 2,218 veterans waiting more than 30 days for their health care appointment.

Disparities

Blumenthal Hosts Discussion On Use Of Antipsychotic Drugs

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US Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that while he is pleased that the state has cut its rate of antipsychotic prescribing in nursing homes, he wants to see more progress. He made the comments after meeting with a group of elder care representatives to discuss a recent news report showing that nursing home residents in Connecticut – many with dementia — are still more likely to be given antipsychotics than their counterparts in 33 other states. On the positive side, the state’s usage rate has dropped 21.6 percent since 2011 – more than the national average. “The challenge is, how do we do better?” Blumenthal said. “Better results are well within reach,” but they require training, adequate staffing and “a new mindset and outlook” that allows for alternative approaches to antipsychotic prescribing.

Veterans' Health

Schwartz Confirmed As New VA Assistant Secretary

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After months of delays, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz as the new Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Policy and Planning in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Schwartz, 69, a former nurse and Air Force veteran, was chosen for the national post last year by President Barack Obama. In her decade as head of the Connecticut agency, she has become known for her strong advocacy of veterans, especially around issues of homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder and women and disabled veterans. Her confirmation was applauded Tuesday by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, who noted in a joint statement that the VA is “in critical need of new approaches, greater accountability and new people to tackle tough challenges.”

This summer, former Proctor & Gamble chief executive Robert A. McDonald took over as Secretary of the embattled department, after a scandal over the manipulation of patient wait-time data led to the ouster of former Secretary Eric Shinseki.

Veterans' Health

Vietnam Vet Hopeful New Pentagon Guidelines Help Him And Others Gain Benefits

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Conley Monk, a Vietnam War veteran who has been fighting for decades to have his military discharge status upgraded, expressed hope Friday that new Pentagon guidelines will help him and other Vietnam Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder finally get federal benefits. PTSD was not designated as a medical condition until 1980. Some 70,000 Vietnam veterans who suffered from undiagnosed PTSD were given less-than-honorable discharges for their behaviors and many were denied medical, educational and other federal benefits and had trouble securing employment. “I’m a fighter. I won’t quit,” said Monk, who left the military in 1971.

Women's Health

A Marathon Effort To Reduce Gun Violence

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When it comes to reducing gun violence, we are in this for the long haul. One of my senators said that. Lori Jackson Gellatly separated from her husband, filed for a temporary restraining order, and moved in with her mother in Oxford. On May 7, a day before a court hearing to extend that order, her husband allegedly broke into the family’s house, and shot Jackson and her mother. The Gellatlys’ toddler twins were asleep upstairs.

Disparities

Feds Issue Rules To Protect Seniors Enrolled In Medicare Advantage Plans

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UnitedHealthcare’s decision last fall to drop thousands of doctors from its Medicare Advantage plans in Connecticut and across the country has spurred Medicare officials to improve protections for seniors who lose their doctors. The new measures were announced late Monday along with a slight increase in next year’s payment rates to Medicare Advantage insurers who provide policies as an alternative to the traditional government-run Medicare program. Nearly 16 million older Americans have enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, including more than 147,000 in Connecticut, which requires members to get treatment only from a network of health care providers. They cannot change plans during the year if their doctor leaves their network. The new rules require insurers to provide at least 90 days advance notice of significant changes in their provider networks and allow members to switch plans under certain circumstances.

Veterans' Health

Vietnam Vets With PTSD File Lawsuit To Gain Benefits

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Five Vietnam War veterans, including a New Haven resident, filed a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming that they have been denied benefits and suffered stigma because they received “other than honorable” discharges due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They asked the U.S. District Court in New Haven to designate the suit as a class action on behalf of tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans in the country in similar circumstances.  PTSD wasn’t designated a medical condition until 1980, five years after the Vietnam War ended. Many Vietnam veterans with undiagnosed PTSD contend they received other than honorable discharges due to behaviors connected with that illness. Vietnam Veterans of America and its Connecticut State Council, and the New Haven-based National Veterans Council for Legal Redress are also plaintiffs in the suit. They are being represented by the Yale Law School  Veterans Legal Services Clinic.

Women's Health

It’s Time For Pro-Choice Legislation

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The last time Congress passed any significant law protecting a woman’s reproductive rights, Bill Clinton was President. That was 1994, and in the interim, people who would colonize the U.S. womb –maybe make it the 51st state — have been busy. And people who disagree with that colonization have seemed strangely quiet. Some relief greets the news that Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and others have introduced S. 1696, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2013. If the legislation passes the Senate, which has no shot of being called for a House vote while Speaker John Boehner holds sway, it is an acknowledgement (finally) that women have the right to decide their reproductive destiny, and closing health clinics restricts that right.