Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Budget winners and losers, health care edition

  • Health
  • by Arielle Levin Becker
  • February 8, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Here’s how some health and social service players made out under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget adjustments.

Winners

Office of Healthcare Advocate: The office, which helps consumers address health insurance issues, would get funding for four positions not in its current budget. Three are now filled and paid for by federal funds slated to run out this year; Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri had been trying to find ways to keep those workers on board, noting that the office’s 2011 caseload was twice what it was the year before. A fourth position will advocate for clients getting voluntary services from the state in an effort to persuade insurance plans to pay, which could potentially save the state money. The office is funded by an assessment on the insurance industry, not state taxpayers.

Connecticut Insurance Department: The department would get 18 additional positions, including seven for regulatory jobs to expedite insurance company reviews, three support positions, and, to create a captive insurance division, three full-time and three part-time jobs. Like the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, the insurance department is funded by an assessment on the insurance industry, not state taxpayers.

Private human services providers: After four years without a funding increase, private providers cheered a proposed 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment, slated to take effect in January. Nonprofit leaders, who feared cuts, are characterizing it as a “first step.”

Losers

Hospitals and community health centers: A year after facing cuts to funds that helped cover shortfalls in payments for uninsured and Medicaid patients, hospitals would take another hit under the governor’s proposal. So would community health centers. Together, they’re slated in the proposal to see a $2.89 million reduction compared with what had been budgeted for the coming fiscal year to help pay for uncompensated care. The administration argued that hospitals and community health centers have received increased funds through a recently created Medicaid program for low-income adults. Community health centers will also experience a $666,822 funding reduction, which the administration says is offset by increased Medicaid payments.

LIFE STAR: The air ambulances operated by Hartford Hospital would see a $600,000 reduction in its state subsidy. The rate paid to the program would return to the level used during the previous fiscal year.

Brain Injury Association of Connecticut: The group usually receives about $150,000 a year from speeding ticket revenues for advocacy efforts. Malloy’s proposal would cut $126,362.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arielle Levin Becker

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Biden moves to overturn Trump birth control rules
by Julie Rovner | Kaiser Health News

The Biden administration has formally proposed the repeal of Trump-era regulations barring abortion referrals.

New Britain residents weren’t getting vaccinated. So city officials got creative.
by Dave Altimari

The city's efforts are a microcosm of what is happening across the country as officials struggle to vaccinate vulnerable residents.

A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

Auditors: UConn Hartford campus construction cost $30M more than budgeted
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Construction and renovations combined originally were priced at $87 million. Final cost: $116.7 million.

CT to start collecting family-leave tax from its workers next week
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state will begin deducting the new tax to support family and medical leave benefits from non-union employees this month.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
by Dayna Vadala

If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.

Opinion Connecticut, be a International leader against hair discrimination among children
by Faith D. Crittenden, Jade A. Anderson, MD, and Whitney L. Stuard

On March 1, 2020, Connecticut became the eighth state to pass the Crown Act, a national legislative movement that recognizes natural hair and cultural headwear discrimination as a form of racial discrimination in the workplace. While we are  in strong support and advocate for this law, it is important to recognize the limitations of the Crown Act and how it can be improved upon in future policy.

Opinion Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown
by Mark Benigni

Over the past decade, Meriden Public Schools -- where U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona served as assistant superintendent -- has become a unique laboratory for new ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible in public education. And many of those ideas have paid off.

Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO