© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
With our partner, the Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut Public Radio's Health Equity and Access Project strives to create awareness about Health Access and advance Health Equity among Connecticut residents, businesses, the educational community, the health care sector, community leaders, and policymakers.As the only statewide public radio station, Connecticut Public Radio has the flexibility and resources to educate Connecticut residents about health disparities through in-depth reporting, hour-long programs, and community events.Visit the Connecticut Health Foundation at cthealth.org.

Should Non-Nurses Give You Your Meds?

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Jeff%20Cohen/2012_04_19_JC%20120419%20Med%20Admin.mp3

Gov. Dannel Malloy has promised to move more than 5,000 poor and disabled patients out of nursing homes in five years.  But he says there's an obstacle -- a state law that says only nurses can give medications to people in the Medicaid system living at home. The governor's plan has faced some opposition in the legislature.

Malloy's bill would let trained home care aides -- who now cost half what nurses do --  administer medications.  That's called nurse delegation, and Malloy says it would save millions of dollars.  And that, he says, would make it easier for Medicaid clients to live in their homes.  Because the status quo, he says, is just too expensive.

But the legislature's Human Services Committee apparently thought otherwise.  The version of the bill that it passed shrunk the number of Medicaid patients who could participate in the new program.  

Anne Foley works in Malloy's Office of Policy and Management.  She says the governor and stakeholders say that change doesn't work.

"We are in agreement that limiting nurse delegation to one subset of the population being served in home care isn't workable from the provider's standpoint."

But there's a new draft bill under discussion between the administration, legislators, advocates for nurses, and providers of home care.  That draft appears to again broaden the patient pool.  Again, Anne Foley.

"The main reason that we're doing this is to make sure that we can serve as many people in home care environments as is possible, and safe and productive and healthy for them."

The legislative session ends in early May.

This story is part of a partnership with WNPR, NPR, and Kaiser Health News.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Jeff Cohen started in newspapers in 2001 and joined Connecticut Public in 2010, where he worked as a reporter and fill-in host. In 2017, he was named news director. Then, in 2022, he became a senior enterprise reporter.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content