A mathematician whose work has evolved to focus on advancing biomedical research will be the first faculty member to hold a joint appointment with the UConn Health Center and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, the health center announced Monday. Reinhard Laubenbacher will serve as co-director for the health center’s new Center for Quantitative Medicine […]
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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Thousands of callers as DSS launches new system
The calls started coming fast and early at the state Department of Social Services, where a new centralized phone system launched statewide Monday. By 9:30 a.m., there’d been 2,400 calls, and by noon, 7,000. The day ended with more than 11,000 phone calls, with 90 people waiting when the offices were to close. Commissioner Roderick […]
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DSS modernization launches statewide Monday amid personnel shuffle
The state Department of Social Services is going through a leadership shake-up as it prepares to roll out major changes in how it deals with clients and handles paperwork. The agency is getting a new deputy commissioner and has new officials in charge of finance, human resources, field operations and the effort to modernize the […]
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Doctors trading independent practices for hospitals, large groups
Norman Rockwell prints hang on the walls of Dr. Douglas Gerard’s office, and the New Hartford primary care doctor says his practice would fit into that era. Gerard is the only medical provider in the office, so he’s the one who takes patients’ vital signs and medical histories. His files are all on paper, and […]
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State launches website to promote long-term care options, jobs
The state has launched a website and media campaign to increase awareness about the choices Connecticut residents have for receiving long-term care and the career options for caregivers. The campaign, called My Place CT, is part of an effort to expand the ability of seniors and people with disabilities to live in communities, rather than […]
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Expect rocky start for Obamacare, key official warns
When the major provisions of the federal health reform roll out over the coming months, don’t expect a smooth start. That’s the message from Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange — a key piece of the law commonly known as Obamacare.
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Health insurance exchange starts marketing itself, Obamacare
There are more than 337,000 people without health insurance in Connecticut, and a new marketplace for buying coverage called Access Health CT is intended to make a dent in that number.
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Connecticut insurers to rebate $5.6 million to customers under Obamacare rule
More than 47,000 Connecticut residents will get rebates from their health insurance companies this summer because the federal health reform law deems the premiums they paid too high.
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Location is a challenge as organizers try to bring free dental clinic to Hartford
Every year, the Connecticut Mission of Mercy hosts a massive, free dental clinic somewhere in Connecticut. Organizers have been hoping to hold one in Hartford, but so far they say they can’t find a venue they can afford.
“Everybody says, ‘Oh, we’d love to have you come to Hartford,’ but nobody right now is really working to help make it happen for us on the financial side,” said Dr. Bruce Tandy, a former president of the Connecticut State Dental Association and co-chairman of the free clinic.
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Stem cell grants target multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, cancer
The nearly $10 million in state stem cell research grants awarded this year will fund researchers at three Connecticut universities exploring topics including chronic pain, tissue engineering and ways to develop vaccine-like treatments for cancer. The grants represent the seventh installment of the state’s 10-year, $100 million commitment to funding research on stem cells, which […]
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Free dental clinic draws hundreds to Bridgeport
Bridgeport – Beth Carter was in pain from the oral surgery. She’d spent the past night outside. She was on the verge of crying from the pain, except she couldn’t stop praising what she’d just gotten: her first dental care in nearly a decade. “I’ve been preparing for this day for a whole year,” said […]
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Anthem files rate proposal for Obamacare insurance prices
In a much-anticipated proposal, the state’s largest insurer has indicated what it wants to charge people buying coverage in the new insurance marketplace being created under federal health reform.
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GMO labeling advocates celebrate, and turn focus to other states
Shortly after the bill they endorsed got pulled “out of the legislative graveyard,” the grass-roots network of advocates pushing for labels on genetically engineered food gathered to cheer about it Monday. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy showed up and congratulated them. But, characteristically, he pointed to the next thing on the agenda. “You better go win […]
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Aetna files rate proposals for Obamacare exchange plans
There’s a national debate going on about just how costly health insurance will be once federal health reform rolls out next year. And this week, Connecticut got another clue.
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Responding to Newtown, House passes children’s mental health bill
The House on Friday unanimously passed a proposal aimed at better coordinating mental health services for young people, a measure described as a response to the massacre at Newtown’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. Supporters of the bill, which previously passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s desk, said it complements […]