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August 23, 2017

DPH: Fewer CT residents report poor health

By John Stearns

Connecticut residents’ perception of their health status appears to be improving, according to a new state report based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

The proportion of Connecticut’s population self-reporting poor health status has declined, according to the Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Care Access Supplemental Statewide Healthcare Facilities and Services Plan.

The plan discusses the changes in Connecticut’s healthcare environment since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, provides an updated overview of health insurance coverage expansion and recent Certificate of Need trends. It also identifies key issues and describes current initiatives addressing prevention, reducing health inequities, improving access to primary care and enhancing care coordination.

The report notes the Affordable Care Act’s insurance mandate reduced Connecticut’s uninsured rate to 8.7 percent in 2015, lower than the overall national rate of 10.8 percent. The report also found that, with the exception of the elderly, Connecticut has relatively low proportions of vulnerable populations compared to the nation overall. While all vulnerable populations have been growing since 2010, racial/ethnic minority populations and individuals living below the poverty level have increased at a faster rate in Connecticut than nationally, DPH said.

Connecticut’s growing elderly and other vulnerable populations will require increased cooperation and collaboration between healthcare providers, hospitals, public health officials and policymakers to ensure the state’s most vulnerable residents have equal access to healthcare services they need, said DPH Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino.

The state also also launched a web application that enables Connecticut residents and policymakers to compare and track quality, outcomes, utilization and cost of in-state hospital care. The application, known as MONAHRQ, also provides information on quality of care at Medicaid- and Medicare-certified nursing homes and by physicians in Connecticut.

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