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2008 Legislative Agenda

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Improving the Health of Connecticut Residents

• Develop or support initiatives that benefit and improve the health of Connecticut residents, including specific proposals relating to organ and blood donation, diabetes, childhood and adult obesity, or racial and ethnic health disparities.

Enhancing Quality of Care and Patient Safety

• Support initiatives that enhance quality and patient safety in Connecticut hospitals and that raise awareness that quality and patient safety are key priorities for hospitals.

  – Seek specific statutory authority for surgical first assistants.

  – Provide leadership on best practices to address multiple drug-resistant organisms.

Ensuring Access to Coverage and Care

• Support initiatives that improve access to health insurance coverage for Connecticut residents and reduce the number of uninsured, including:

  – Restoring continuous eligibility for children in HUSKY for one year.

  – Expanding access to primary care.

Securing Fair and Adequate Hospital Reimbursement

• Attain increases in Medicaid and State-Administered General Assistance inpatient and outpatient rates equal to the cost of providing such services.

   

• Maintain funding for the Uncompensated Care Pool and Urban DSH Pool.

• Expand critical access to capital funding through a CHEFA-issued revenue bond program to provide grants, forgivable loans, and low interest loans.

Reforming the Mental Health System

• Attain increases in Medicaid and State-Administered General Assistance inpatient and outpatient mental health rates equal to the cost of providing such services.

   

• Support initiatives across the continuum of care that would improve Connecticut's system for providing care to children and adults with mental health needs.

– Seek an increase in the State's intermediate care services and programs.

• Ensure that patients' interests are protected in the implementation of the Behavioral Health Partnership.

• Reduce emergency department overcrowding.

 – Seek an expansion of mental health crisis and emergency services.

Building a Strong Workforce

• Seek the establishment of initiatives to successfully develop, recruit, and retain qualified faculty members for nursing and allied health programs with the goal of accommodating admission of all interested and qualified applicants.

   

• Seek support to expand classroom/laboratory resources as necessary to accommodate increased admissions to nursing and allied health programs.

• Obtain bonding to support hospitals' acquisition of patient lifting equipment, essential to the retention of older healthcare workers.

• Support workplace-related initiatives that protect employers' and employees' right to communicate about workplace issues.

• Support initiatives that ensure hospitals' ability to appropriately manage human resources to meet ever-changing patient care needs.

Approved by the CHA Board of Trustees, January 14, 2008