Annual Report of Activities

2003

A look back at the Connecticut Health Policy Project and its activities through its fourth anniversary.

Organizational Accomplishments:

• Updated Project website - visits to the site steady, averaging 188 visits a day
• Created website for Consumer Health Action Network
• Monthly web quizzes on CT health topics
• CT Health Notes listserv enjoyed steady growth in subscriptions, published biweekly
• Strengthened partnership with Student Health Outreach (SHOUT) - Yale student organization providing outreach and application assistance for Connecticut's uninsured
• Revenues exceeded expenses by a healthy margin, set aside one year’s operating and payroll cushion
• Fourth Anniversary Party !!!!!

Program Accomplishments:

• Secured funding and initiated In Their Own Words, a qualitative study of 5 to 10 families with a member who recently lost HUSKY – to document impact on families including access to services, health status, financial impact and quality of life.
• Secured expanded renewal funding for Consumer Health Action Network – approximately 500 uninsured and HUSKY consumer households receiving support and training in advocacy, information on policy proposals and opportunities to be heard by policymakers
• Day of Conversation – small group of advocates met with health staffers from DC and CT offices of CT’s federal delegation for a day at the Mohegan Sun
• Feasibility study of supportive housing for families with medically complex children conducted, now beginning implementation by state
• Intensive advocacy training and assistance in developing an advocacy unit for the Hispanic Health Council
• Collaborated in facilitating development of the CT Healthy Start Network
• Conducted a needs assessment for the borough of Danielson, CT
• Drafted and disseminated four popular Policymaker Issue Briefs – one-page analyses of timely topics facing Connecticut
• Considerable media outreach – dozens of articles quoting CTHPP or on background – including front page Hartford Courant 9/30/03 story on new Census report with rising numbers of uninsured CT residents, with stories of affected families and background making statistics relevant
• Provided assistance to Connecticut Oral Health Initiative – communications, policy analysis, research and strategy
• Provided technical assistance and research to dozens of consumers, policymakers, advocates, and providers
• MOST IMPORTANT – provided assistance to dozens of uninsured and underinsured Connecticut consumers seeking health care coverage

Lessons Learned:

• Growing appreciation of the wisdom of supporting consumers in their voice - not to speak for them, they are more powerful than we will ever be
• Focusing on the Project’s mission is critical to making best use of scarce resources
• Authentic consumer outreach to gather feedback is critical
• to ensure that we are accurately reading the “problem”
• to ensure that proposed policy solutions are realistic and likely to work
• to keep us honest, remind us who we work for, and why we do this
• Gathering authentic consumer feedback is labor intensive – A very wise reporter said, "Getting the statistics is always the easy part of the story. Finding real people affected by policies, willing to talk, appropriate for the story, is the really hard part."
• The power of honest conversation, developing relationships
• Take time to reflect on victories (they are there) and celebrate

Goals for Next Year:

• Complete In Their Own Words, educate policymakers about the effects of losing HUSKY on real CT families
• Consumer Health Cabinet – create a small, on-going, facilitated and supported group of consumers and high level policymakers meeting on a regular basis
• Continue the Day of Conversation
• Continue consumer and policymaker education on upcoming issues and policy options including defined contributions and hospital debt collection
• Strengthen the Consumer Action Network – a supported, trained and active group of consumers who have a real impact on health policies working on their own agenda
• Continue CT Health Notes, Project website and Toolbox updates
• Support consumers in media outreach
• Provide productive student research experiences, building health care leadership for Connecticut
• Continue collaboration with others on health policy research and consumer advocacy
• Continue to monitor policy and budget changes, offer realistic affordable policy solutions
• Continue to serve consumers who call needing help

Approved, Project Board of Directors, January 14, 2004