Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a pair of executive orders focused on health care costs for Connecticut residents.
One of the executive orders directs the Office of Health Strategy to establish statewide health care cost growth and quality benchmarks by December for calendar years 2021-2025. It also calls on the OHS to establish targets for increased primary care spending as a percentage of total health care spending to reach 10% by 2025, and to develop quality benchmarks across all public and private payers beginning in 2022.
The second executive order directs the Department of Social Services to establish a transparency strategy for Medicaid cost and quality by December. The DSS is also tasked with convening an advisory board to provide input to the agency on the content and goals for the reporting, and to establish strategic interventions for Medicaid members that improve outcomes and reduce health disparities.
The governor said that similar benchmarks in Massachusetts have saved health care consumers more than $5 billion since 2013.
“While several independent studies rank Connecticut”™s health care system near the top nationwide, our state also ranks sixth nationally for health care spending and has significant health disparities that we must address,” Lamont said. “Getting these costs under control will help strengthen economic development and will help us attract and retain a talented workforce.
“These executive orders address major cost drivers and quality concerns for individuals, businesses, and in-state spending,” he said. “They expand on our continuing efforts to constrain medical costs, and will improve health care quality in the state.”
