Comptroller Sean Scanlon Unveils 2024 Comptroller’s Healthcare Cabinet Report
Report outlines key priorities and recommendations for improving healthcare accessibility and affordability in Connecticut
(HARTFORD, CT) – Comptroller Sean Scanlon today unveiled the 2024 Comptroller’s Healthcare Cabinet Report during the first collective meeting of the Cabinet.
Throughout 2023, Comptroller Scanlon brought together key policymakers, stakeholders, practitioners, and advocates to discuss healthcare challenges facing various demographic populations across Connecticut.
Within the Comptroller Healthcare Cabinet, subcommittees based on those population groups sought solutions to these challenges, which include potential legislation or restructuring of current efforts.
“When I asked healthcare leaders to join this cabinet, I told them that I wanted it to be more than the typical task force report that collects dust on a shelf,” said Comptroller Scanlon. “I wanted the Healthcare Cabinet to be a living, breathing entity that is representative of our state and its needs and, accordingly, would challenge leaders to do more to improve healthcare in Connecticut.”
Following a keynote from Former Congressman and mental health advocate Patrick J. Kennedy, subcommittee co-chairs briefly introduced key priorities that emerged during their meetings, as well as their recommendations put forth in the report.
“I applaud members of this cabinet for their time, dedication, and energy identifying challenges and meaningful solutions to address them,” said Comptroller Scanlon. “The recommendations in this report are bold ideas, ones that I am confident will improve healthcare access and affordability in Connecticut. I am indebted to the advocates, practitioners, and policymakers who collaborated with my office throughout this process.”
The key constituency groups or issue areas that comprise the Cabinet include:
- Workforce Subcommittee; Co-chairs Karen Buckley and John Brady
- Rural Healthcare Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Jean Speck and Kyle Kramer
- Urban Healthcare: Equity and Disparities Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Ayesha Clarke and Cecil “Ngoni” Tengatenga
- Urban Healthcare: Affordability and Accessibility Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Suzanne Lagarde and Michael Taylor
- Mental Health Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Maria Coutant-Skinner and Javeed Sukhera
- Women’s Healthcare Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Gretchen Raffa, Meghan Scanlon, and Janèe Woods Weber
- LGBTQIA+ Healthcare Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Siri Daulaire and Anthony Crisci
- Children’s Healthcare Subcommittee; Co-Chairs Paul Dworkin and Alice Forrester
Several subcommittees saw common solutions and potential concepts to address to their individually unique challenges, such as:
- Providing additional support for those in underserved communities, including increased reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare patients.
- Closing the gap between Medicaid reimbursements and the cost of care at federally qualified health centers.
- Exploring alternative revenue streams, including reimbursement for community health workers to perform social determinants of health risk assessments.
- Increasing Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance response rural parts of Connecticut, where double transportation is often required.
Following the report unveiling, the Office of the State Comptroller will continue its work with advocates and the legislature to bring these recommendations to fruition. The full report can be accessed at osc.ct.gov/reports.
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