Hospitals Participate in Healthcare Cost Growth Benchmark Public Hearing

On Monday, June 23, hospitals and health systems participated in a public hearing hosted by the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy (OHS) regarding the state’s healthcare cost growth benchmarks.

The hearing included a morning session for the statutorily required hearing on the annual benchmark results; in this case the 2023 benchmark results including the state’s cost growth benchmark, quality benchmarks, and primary care spending targets. The afternoon session of the public hearing focused on OHS’s proposed 2026–2030 benchmark values and related recommendations.

Monday’s event featured presentations and panel discussions exploring the impact of healthcare affordability on state residents and employers as well as perspectives from hospitals and insurers. OHS invited the following hospital representatives to speak on a panel focused on hospital costs: James Cardon, MD, Executive VP/Chief Clinical Integration Officer, Hartford HealthCare; Patrick Charmel, President and CEO, Griffin Health; and Paul Golino, Vice President of Finance, Stamford Health.

The hospital representatives fielded questions from OHS related to the 2023 benchmark results and highlighted the importance of addressing Medicaid underfunding as a critical component of efforts to improve affordability and healthcare cost growth.

Paul Kidwell, Senior Vice President, Policy, CHA provided testimony on the proposed 2026–2030 Cost Growth Benchmark recommendations during the public hearing.  Connecticut hospitals and health systems have served as committed partners in advancing the goals of the Healthcare Cost Growth Benchmark Initiative since it launched in 2020, Kidwell explained, but have significant concerns about the state’s flawed benchmark methodology, deficiencies in OHS’s data reporting process, and premature implementation of enforcement mechanisms contained in the recommendations for 2026-2030.  Kidwell also discussed how OHS’s proposal has no avenue for modifications to take into consideration economic shifts such as tariffs, workforce shortages, or inflation.

“We urge thoughtful revisions that more accurately reflect the dynamic nature of the healthcare market,” said Kidwell, encouraging OHS to set targets that realistically reflect the cost for hospitals and other providers to deliver care to patients, address persistent data inconsistencies, and take into consideration the suggestions and views of care providers.

Also at OHS this week, the office welcomed Amy Porter as the new acting commissioner. Porter, a veteran state administrator who also serves as commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, is replacing Deidre Gifford who retired from the position last week.

Learn more about Acting Commissioner Amy Porter here.

Watch the morning public hearing on the 2023 benchmark results here.

Watch the afternoon public hearing on OHS’s proposed 2026–2030 benchmark values here.