State Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri has asked the Connecticut Insurance Department to hold a public hearing on Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s proposal to raise premiums for its individual-market health plans by an average of 12.5 percent next year.
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.
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Access Health CT’s mobile app rolling out
Access Health officials say the free mobile app will make it easier for people to shop for health care coverage using smart phones or tablets. Officials hope it will appeal to young people — a coveted customer pool — and to people who have smart phones but don’t have regular access to a computer.
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Legislators say DSS hearing rules must change for ‘fundamental fairness’
They’re called fair hearings — the chance people get to appeal decisions made by the state Department of Social Services, such as denials of applications for benefits or being turned down for Medicaid coverage of a certain treatment. But some legislators say the way the department handles the hearings makes them anything but fair.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy signs for-profit hospital bill, e-cigarette ban for minors
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed a bill that clears the way for nonprofit hospitals to convert to for-profits, a measure that grew out of intense, last-minute negotiations involving hospitals, unions and lawmakers from both parties.
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Exchange premiums could rise more than 10 percent next year — or drop, for some
Two insurers selling health plans through Connecticut’s exchange want to raise rates by more than 10 percent next year, while a third wants to lower its premiums, according to proposals filed with the Connecticut Insurance Department.
Posted inHealth
Malloy vetos substance abuse treatment bill opposed by insurance industry
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has vetoed a bill opposed by the insurance industry that would have required carriers to report information about the substance abuse treatment they have covered and their networks of mental health and substance abuse treatment providers.
Posted inHealth
Bill could encourage ‘warm handoff’ for mental health treatment in CT
A somewhat technical measure could make it significantly easier for people to get mental health care, treatment providers say.
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Access Health CT’s storefronts closing for regular business this summer
Access Health CT’s storefront enrollment centers in New Britain and New Haven will close for day-to-day business this summer and reopen in the fall, according to the state’s health insurance exchange. The two storefronts will host educational sessions about health care reform during the summer.
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How much did Medicaid grow under Obamacare? Not as much as you’d think
Connecticut’s health insurance exchange says 129,588 people signed up for Medicaid from Oct. 1 through March 31. But figures from the state Department of Social Services show that enrollment in Medicaid grew by just over half that amount.
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CT Medicaid enrollment at record high under Obamacare
Nearly one in five state residents is now covered by the Medicaid program, according to figures from the state Department of Social Services.
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Access Health CT update: Younger people bought late; calls still coming
Just over 80,018 state residents have private health insurance purchased through the state’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, according to numbers presented Thursday.
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Updated: Nevada considered CT exchange software, but didn’t commit
Nevada’s health insurance exchange board considered using Connecticut’s exchange system but opted to go in a different direction, according to a spokesman.
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Six ways CT’s Obamacare exchange insurance will change next year
Yes, the enrollment period for plans sold by Connecticut’s health insurance exchange ended just over a month ago. But there are already changes in the works for next year’s health plans, and some could be significant.
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Access Health CT’s 2015 plans: See what’s changing
The selection of plans sold through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, will be changing next year. Here’s an early look.
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Deductibles, co-insurance and other health insurance terms to know
If you’re shopping for health insurance, chances are you’ll come across some or all of these terms — and knowing what they mean can make a big difference in selecting the right plan for you.
