Hartford Business Journal Special Editions

Doing Business in CT 2014

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82 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 cut down on complications. For example, Manchester Memorial Hospital, which is part of Eastern Connecticut Health Network, now owns two da Vinci robotic surgery systems. ese cutting edge tools allow physicians like Dr. David Rosenberg, a urologist at Manchester Memorial, to use the smallest incisions possible when they are performing surgery. e da Vinci system also allows doctors "to have a better visual that's more three dimension- al," Rosenberg explained, adding that the robot gives him more dexterity. It's not just doctors that are looking to work at hospitals with the latest in surgical technolo- gies. Patients are actively seeking the technology, according to Rosenberg. "e vast majority of men who come to my office are well aware of robotic surgery and most of them ask if it's a possibility," he said. One of the factors that may be driving the need for expansion at hospitals is the fed- eral Affordable Care Act, which mandates that all Americans must have health insurance. Access Health CT — which manages the public insurance exchange in Connecticut — helped more than 200,000 residents sign up for coverage. at is double initial projections. Access Health CT's online platform for buying coverage received rave reviews, so much so that other states, including Mary- land, have opted to begin using the website source code Connecticut developed with its contractor, Deloitte. With a successful enrollment period under his belt, Access Health CT's CEO Kevin Counihan is looking forward to the next steps in maintaining the health insurance exchange in the state. One of those steps is the establish- ment of an "all payers claims database," or APCD. e database will be an online clearing- house for the public to find out what different types of treatments or tests cost. e APCD "starts liing the veil off of cost issues," explains Counihan, and once it launches in 2015, it has the potential to help all Connecticut residents make smarter choices when it comes to their health care. In addition to helping increase trans- parency when it comes to health care costs, the availability of affordable insurance for individuals is also enabling greater entrepre- neurship in the state, because people don't have to stay employed at a large company in order to keep their health insurance. "As imperfect as all of this is, it actu- ally has liberated folks so that they can take chances and start that business. People are no longer limited to staying at their old job," Counihan said. q Industry sPOtLIGHt › Stephen B. McPherson, president and CEO, Masonicare Health Care ' As imperfect as [the Affordable Care Act] is, it actually has liberated folks so that they can take chances and start that business. ' —Kevin Counihan, CEO of CT's Access Health HMOs in Connecticut Source: Consumer Report Card on Health Insurance Carriers in Connecticut. Note: Oxford Health Plans is owned by UnitedHealthcare PHOTO/COURTESY > Continued from page 77 HMO Enrollment in CT Primary Care Physicians Physician Specialists Hospitals Pharmacies Aetna Health 32,901 3,987 8,606 30 677 Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield 288,861 2,916 7,210 30 673 Cigna 192 4,182 11,797 30 662 ConnectiCare 99,535 4,615 8,972 30 670 Oxford Health Plans 22,961 3,641 6,988 30 676

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