Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed a $19.87 billion budget Wednesday that cuts most state agencies and previously approved municipal aid, and potentially eliminates “thousands” of jobs, while avoiding tax hikes to close a nearly $570 million deficit.
Arielle Levin Becker
Arielle Levin Becker covered health care for The Connecticut Mirror. She previously worked for The Hartford Courant, most recently as its health reporter, and has also covered small towns, courts and education in Connecticut and New Jersey. She was a finalist in 2009 for the prestigious Livingston Award for Young Journalists, a recipient of a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship and the third-place winner in 2013 for an in-depth piece on caregivers from the National Association of Health Journalists. She is a 2004 graduate of Yale University.
Posted inHealth, Money
Advocates say social service, mental health cuts will hurt
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget calls for cutting funding for mental health and substance abuse treatment, hospitals, community health centers, school-based health clinics, asthma treatment, respite programs for those who care for people with dementia – and more.
Posted inHealth
In shoreline cancer treatment dispute, questions about hospital competition
What began with a plan to replace an aging piece of medical equipment has turned into a dispute over the delivery of cancer care along Connecticut’s affluent shoreline. And at a time when policymakers have expressed worries about preserving competition in the state’s fast-consolidating health care market, one side has suggested the case highlights questions about competition – and the way state regulation can limit it.
Posted inHealth
How to manage a high-deductible health plan
High-deductible health plans, which are increasingly common, don’t just require people to pay more when they get care; they also leave people with more to understand, from figuring out how much care costs to handling bills that aren’t always clear. Here are some tips from experts on how to manage a high-deductible plan. This story is the latest in a series on how to better navigate the health care system.
Posted inHealth
With 10 days left, ConnectiCare leads exchange sign-ups
ConnectiCare continues to lead the market among customers of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, with 52 percent of the nearly 109,000 people signed up so far for 2016 coverage.
Posted inHealth
CT insurance exchange to tighten sign-up rule
Connecticut’s health insurance exchange plans to get tougher on those seeking to sign up for private insurance coverage outside the open enrollment period, following concerns that people signing up midyear have been driving up costs for insurers.
Posted inHealth
Workplace depression under-recognized, expensive, treatable
Depression can take a big toll on workplaces, but too often, it remains hidden and unaddressed, according to mental health and employment experts.
Posted inHealth
DPH asks providers to report suspected Zika virus cases
Connecticut has not had any reported cases of the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes that are not found in the state.
Posted inHealth
Spending and enrollment up, but Medicaid per-person cost is down
Connecticut’s Medicaid program is projected to cost the state and federal government more than $6 billion this year, and it covers close to one in five state residents, a dramatic growth from a decade ago. But underneath the rising cost and enrollment trends, something else has been happening: The average per-person costs have been falling – particularly among those newly eligible for coverage under the federal health law.
Posted inHealth
Social Services Commissioner Bremby doesn’t get Kansas job
Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby won’t be leaving Connecticut for a post in Kansas. Although Bremby was a finalist to become city manager of Lawrence, Kan., the city commission selected another candidate Thursday.
Posted inMoney, Politics
GE moving global headquarters from Fairfield to Boston
The company says Boston was selected “after a careful evaluation of the business ecosystem, talent, long-term costs, quality of life for employees, connections with the world and proximity to other important company assets.”
Posted inHealth
CT to study other states to target health costs, market changes
As part of a major new health care law, a state board has until December to recommend ways to address rising health care costs and market changes.
Posted inPolitics
Advocacy groups for nonprofits to merge
Two prominent lobbying groups that represent nonprofits plan to merge next month, days before the start of a legislative session likely to find them trying to avert funding cuts to their members.
Posted inHealth
Coming soon to your mailbox: An Obamacare tax form
Even if you don’t get your health insurance through the federal health law, you’re likely to get the form, which is part of the way the federal government verifies whether people are complying with the mandate that nearly all Americans have health care coverage. Here’s what you need to know.
Posted inHealth
How well will new rules on health care cost transparency work?
Lisa Freeman recently tried an experiment: Before having a medical diagnostic test, she tried to figure out what it would cost. “It took no less than five phone calls, and I still never got to the end of the thing,” she said. A major transparency law intended to change that is taking effect this year. How will it work in practice? Health care providers say it might be bumpy at first.