Mary Alice Lee, PhD & Michael Sullivan

Governor Rell's proposed budget for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 would eliminate funding for independent performance monitoring of the HUSKY program, undermining longstanding legislative efforts to ensure that taxpayer funds for a major health care program are spent wisely. Over 345,000 Connecticut children, parents, and pregnant women depend on the HUSKY Program for access to preventive care and treatment. By tracking the care that children in HUSKY actually receive, independent performance monitoring helps to ensure that the goal of access to preventive care is met. Without independent tracking and oversight, families in HUSKY may not get the care they need and no one will know. For families enrolled in HUSKY's managed care plans, the state pays a monthly fee for each HUSKY member, whether or not the member receives any health services. An analysis of HUSKY A health care found that in 2007, the state paid millions of dollars for HUSKY members who did not get care. Nearly 16,000 children aged 2 to 19 (11% of all children in HUSKY A for the entire year) did not have any care at all, even though Connecticut paid the managed care plans over $38 million to provide care for these children. Accountability for performance is particularly important during this time of tremendous change in the administration of the HUSKY Program. (February 2009)

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