Public Health Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen is leaving to take a senior post with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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
New Access Health customers skew younger, lower-income, so far
More than 5,400 new customers have bought private insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange since Nov. 1, a group that includes more young adults and more people who qualify for subsidized coverage compared to the current customer base.
Posted inHealth
DSS Commissioner Bremby a finalist for Kansas post
State Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby is one of three finalists to become city manager of Lawrence, Kansas, where he once served as assistant city manager.
Posted inHealth
The story in charts: Who still smokes?
Smoking is down significantly across the country, and the rate is even lower in Connecticut. But the overall picture masks significant disparities in who the remaining smokers are.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Health, Justice, Money, Politics, Transportation
Democrats: Suspend public financing of elections, cut transportation and local aid
The leaders of the legislature’s Democratic majority Monday recommended suspending the state’s public-financing of elections for 2016, cutting social services and retreating from two major initiatives on transportation and municipal aid.
Posted inHealth
CT’s insurance CO-OP sticking around, but still a work in progress
The nonprofit insurer lost $28 million in 2014 and, as of June 30, had lost $9.5 million this year. CEO Ken Lalime said early losses are not unusual for a new company, and said HealthyCT has the capital to get through the initial, unprofitable years.
Posted inEducation, Health, Justice, Money, Politics
Malloy pitches $350M in cuts; GOP wants mix of cuts, labor savings
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy presented legislators Thursday with almost $350 million in budget-cutting options that would fall heavily on social services, education and municipal aid, according to documents obtained by The Mirror. Meanwhile, leaders of the legislature’s Republican minority offered an array of spending cuts and new restrictions on state employees’ wages and benefits, all of which presumably would require negotiations with labor unions.
Posted inHealth
Post-Newtown program helps children get mental health care
Addressing mental health issues has become an increasingly large part of pediatric practice, but few pediatricians said they could meet their patients’ behavioral health needs or easily access a psychiatrist to help. A program created in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting aims to change that by funding teams of psychiatrists to consult with pediatricians. It was used more than 5,000 times in its first year.
Posted inHealth
Study: Black women twice as likely to be re-hospitalized after childbirth
Black women in Connecticut were twice as likely as white women to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of childbirth, and Hispanic women were nearly 50 percent more likely than whites to be readmitted, according to a study published this month in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Posted inHealth
VIDEO: Putting the science on childhood trauma into practice
Four experts discuss the still-significant gaps between what research on childhood trauma and other experiences shows and what is done to translate that into practice to improve future mental and physical health.
Posted inHealth
AG: Hartford Hospital, contractor to pay $90,000 in 2012 data theft
Hartford Hospital and one of its contractors have agreed to pay the state $90,000 and undertake training and security measures to resolve an investigation into the theft of a laptop containing unencrypted patient information in June 2012, according to Attorney General George Jepsen’s office.
Posted inHealth
Obamacare signups begin with different outreach strategy
Janet Carlson and her team are preparing for a third round of outreach to help the uninsured get health care coverage in Litchfield County, and she’s anticipating more people who need significant assistance this time around. She’ll also be something of an anomaly, one of just a handful of people formally charged with finding and signing up the uninsured.
Posted inHealth
Obamacare Q&A: Signups start next week
Sunday marks the start of the third open enrollment period for health insurance under the federal health law. That means the nearly 170,000 Connecticut residents who buy their own health insurance will have a chance to shop for new plans — and many will need to take action to keep the coverage they have. Here’s what you need to know.
Posted inHealth
As health care changes, can independent hospitals survive?
As large hospital systems have grown in Connecticut, the state now has just seven hospitals that are not part of a bigger system or in talks to join one. Are the remaining independents holding out for the right suitor? Or do they see a path forward as independent hospitals at a time when more hospital leaders are taking the opposite view?
Posted inHealth
Language barriers compound disease, trauma for Southeast Asian refugees
Many of those who came to Connecticut as refugees from Southeast Asia in the 1970s and 80s live with multiple chronic medical conditions, depression and post-traumatic stress. But often, they get medical care without access to trained interpreters to help bridge language barriers that can make it difficult to communicate their symptoms, understand how to handle medication, or build the trust needed to address the effects of trauma.