Independent performance monitoring for the HUSKY Program enhances the Department of Social Service’s capacity for administration and oversight of the program.
Since 1995, state-funded performance monitoring has contributed to data-driven policy and program improvements.
Over 475,000 children, parents and pregnant women rely on Connecticut’s HUSKY Program for access to needed care and protection from catastrophic health care expenses. The HUSKY Program costs Connecticut about $1.2 billion a year, while independent performance monitoring costs less than 0.02% of that amount ($208,050 per year in the FY 14-15 budget). The federal government reimburses Connecticut 50 cents or more on every dollar spent, so state dollars for ensuring accountability are minimal.
Policy makers and advocates, including legislators, Department of Social Services staff and contractors, and the Department of Public Health staff, rely on independent analyses of program data and policies for assessing program successes and identifying areas for improvement.
The State of Connecticut should continue to fund this long-standing investment, building on the legacy of independence performance monitoring and program accountability. Under the state-funded contract for HUSKY Program performance monitoring, Connecticut Voices for Children reports on the following aspects of program performance and quality:
- Continuity of health insurance coverage and enrollment changes.
- Maternal health and birth outcomes for new families.
- Enrollment and preventive health services utilization in early childhood.
- Health services access and utilization trends.
- The impact of factors other than eligibility rules and program design that can affect access to care and utilization of health services.
- The impact of federally-funded project on maternal and infant oral health services.
- HUSKY Program data quality improvement.
