Opinion: Let’s halt rush to risky Medicaid experiment

Ellen Andrews is the executive director of the Connecticut Health Policy Project.

I am continually reminded of the human tendency to ignore past errors and follow the latest shiny new thing. And sometimes we are blind to what is already working quite well.

The latest new thing in Connecticut’s health care landscape is the State Innovation Model (SIM), which has been deeply troubled from the start. But the latest bad idea from the group risks our state’s successful Medicaid program, both for the 770,000 state residents that rely on it and for our strained state budget.

No one supports intelligent, thoughtful reform more than consumers. Connecticut has received a small federal grant meant to support thoughtful reforms. All of the surrounding states are being collaborative and thoughtful with their SIM grants. Unfortunately, our state is using that grant to rush our Medicaid program into shared savings, a very new and unproven payment model.

See the complete story at CT News Junkie.