Press Releases
06/26/2024
OFFICE OF HEALTH STRATEGY HOSTS HEALTHCARE BENCHMARKS HEARING FOCUSED ON HEALTHCARE COST GROWTH, QUALITY AND PRIMARY CARE INVESTMENT
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 26, 2024
(Hartford, CT) – On Tuesday, June 25, 2024 the Office of Health Strategy (OHS), hosted an informational hearing on Connecticut’s Healthcare Benchmark Initiatives. The initiatives play a key role in improving the health of state residents by ensuring access to high-quality affordable health care. OHS released three reports central to the initiative’s mission in May including the Healthcare Cost Growth Benchmark, Quality and Primary Care Spending Target reports.
Tuesday’s event featured presentations and panel discussions exploring the challenges and opportunities highlighted in the reports’ findings. OHS Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford, MD, MPH welcomed legislators, consumers, providers and payers to the presentation.
“High healthcare costs hurt Connecticut families and businesses and compromise health equity,” said Commissioner Gifford. “Collaboration represents one of the most critical tools we have to control cost growth and ensure high-quality, affordable health care is accessible for all of our neighbors. Today we have representatives from many key healthcare and policy-making sectors in the room and this represents a vital conversation for our state.”
Lisa C. Manzer, Director, Center for Women's Welfare, University of Washington and co-author of the Connecticut Healthcare Affordability Index, addressed the challenges many families and businesses face as rising healthcare costs result in delayed or deferred care. Among households of working age adults in Connecticut 300,000 struggle to afford healthcare. That number includes the more than 650,000 adults and children who reside in those households
Lynelle Hengen, provides outreach to the homeless for a nonprofit agency in Norwich. Although she has health insurance through her employer, the premiums and high deductible of her plan cause daily stress for the single mother. “Even if I could afford a diagnosis for a serious injury or illness,” Hengen said, “I would never be able to pay for the treatment.”
“Payments for regular medical care come out of my pocket and make it hard to make ends meet each week,” she continued. Hengen also had to discontinue her own clinical care with a provider recently as the pre-deductible cost impacted her ability to keep up with housing and utility costs.
Commissioner Gifford thanked Ms. Hengen for participating in the event. “The experience you’ve shared reminds us all of why we are here.”
Connecticut came close to reaching the cost growth benchmark target for calendar year 2022, the most recent year for which data was available. Adjusted for population growth, per person healthcare spending grew 3.4%, slightly exceeding the benchmark of 3.2%. The report identified hospital prices and prescription drug costs as drivers in cost growth.
Joshua Wojcik, Director, Health Policy & Benefits Division, Office of the State Comptroller, moderated a discussion on retail pharmacy spending trends. Retail pharmacy was the primary driver of spending growth across Medicaid, Medicare and commercial markets in 2022.
“We identified three prescription drug manufacturers – AbbVie, AMGEN, and VERTEX – as pharmaceutical manufacturers contributing to medical cost trends. Four drugs produced by these three manufacturers represent over $220 million in spending in Connecticut in 2022 in the fully insured retail pharmacy space alone,” said Gifford. “We invited representatives from these companies to be here today to discuss solutions to high drug costs, however they failed to appear and engage in discussion.”
Presentations moderated by Christopher F. Koller, President of the Milbank Memorial Foundation and Dr. Bradley Richards, Chief Medical Officer for the Connecticut Department of Social Services emphasized the importance of collaboration between clinical providers and payers to improve healthcare quality in treatment for common, chronic diseases and enhance investments in primary care. Al Kurose, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nuvance Health Medical Practices, discussed data- and technology-driven innovations in primary care delivery.
Additional panelists taking part in the day’s presentations included:
- Michael Bailit, Bailit Health
- Rohit Bhalla, MD, Stamford Health
- Christine Etzel, Director of Strategic Provider Collaboration, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of CT
- David Krol, MD, CT Children’s Network
- Benjamin Oldfield, MD, Fair Haven Community Health Center
- Wendy Polsinelli, RVP, Connecticut Provider Solutions, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of CT
- Alex Reger, PhD, Healthcare Benchmark Program Director, OHS
- Duncan Stuart, Vice President, New England Regional Market, Aetna
- Benjamin Oldfield, MD, Fair Haven Community Health Center
- INVITED: AbbVie, AMGEN, Vertex
For more information or to view the event visit: Cost Growth and Quality Benchmarks, and Primary Care Target (ct.gov)
Presentation available on CT-N: https://ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=23284
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Media Contact:
Wendy Fuchs, MBA, FACHE
Director of Communications, Connecticut Office of Health Strategy
Wendy.Fuchs@ct.gov