The SustiNet Health Care Cabinet, an advisory board created as part of a compromise on the proposed SustiNet state-run health plan, will hold its first meeting Monday. The cabinet will be led by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and includes 16 members appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, legislative leaders and the board that developed the […]
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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Charter Oak health plan enrollment falls as premiums rise
More than 1,150 people dropped out of the Charter Oak Health Plan when premiums rose this month, largely because of legislation curtailing state subsidies for the program, and participation could fall even further in the coming months. After lawmakers raised concerns about the declining enrollment Friday, a top official at the state Department of Social […]
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Federal funds boost food stamp benefits post-Irene
More than 208,000 low-income households in the state received additional benefits to replace food spoiled by power outages or flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, according to the state Department of Social Services. The benefits are available to people who were, at the time of Irene, enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly […]
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Did your doctor get drug company money?
Promoting pharmaceuticals is a big-money business, and reporters at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning independent newsroom devoted to investigative journalism in the public interest, have been tracking the cash flow. This week, ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Dan Nguyen reported that eight drug companies spent more than $220 million on promotional speakers for their products […]
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Connecticut’s long-term care system ranked 11th in U.S.
Connecticut’s long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities ranked 11th in the nation in a scorecard of states released Thursday by The Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation. Connecticut led the nation in limiting staff turnover in nursing homes; the state’s 18.7 percent turnover rate less than half the median rate of […]
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Health care costs eating into families’ disposable income
A typical American family saw its income grow by $23,000 between 1999 and 2009, but the rising cost of health care gobbled up so much of the increase that the family was left with just $95 a month in additional spending money after inflation, according to a study published this month in the journal Health […]
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ECHN terminating UnitedHealthcare contract Oct. 15
Eastern Connecticut Health Network, the parent company of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, announced Tuesday that it will terminate its contract with UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans as of Oct. 15. At that point, the hospitals would be out of the insurers’ networks, and patients covered by those plans would face out-of-network rates if […]
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A stem cell research project takes an unexpected turn
Valerie Horsley and her fellow researchers at Yale University were looking at the role fat cells play in the skin, part of a broader examination into how tissues maintain themselves, when their work took them in a totally unexpected direction: Now they’re looking at a potential treatment for baldness. “I was really surprised that this […]
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Anthem proposes 12.9 percent rate increase
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state’s largest health insurer and a favorite target of advocates for more stringent regulation of rate increases, is seeking to raise premiums by 12.9 percent next year for more than 45,000 individual-market customers, including some whose plans were the subject of a controversial request that got denied last […]
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After Irene, DSS makes food and cash benefits available sooner for many
Concerned that power outages and other effects of Tropical Storm Irene made many state residents especially hard-pressed to meet basic needs, the state Department of Social Services this month made food and cash benefits available to more than 360,000 people before many would ordinarily receive them. “We knew that that was a huge segment of […]
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Boil water advisory for 86 drinking water systems
As of Monday afternoon, 86 public drinking water systems were subject to a boil water advisory, down from 144 on Friday, according to the state Department of Public Health. They are: Woodlawn Apartments, LLC, Ashford Mar-Lea Park Apts, Ashford Elmwood Court LLC, Bethel Sunset Apartments, Bolton 168 Boston Turnpike, Bolton Brooklyn Manor, Brooklyn Longview Estates, […]
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Lawrence & Memorial becomes latest hospital to explore affiliation
New London’s Lawrence & Memorial Hospital announced Wednesday that it is exploring a possible merger or affiliation with The Westerly Hospital of Rhode Island, becoming the latest in a series of hospitals to consider joining forces. The two hospitals have signed an exclusive, nonbinding letter of intent to explore a possible alliance, allowing them to […]
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91 drinking water systems under boil water advisories
Ninety-one public drinking water systems are under a boil water advisory, according to the state Department of Public Health. The number has been updated from earlier in the day. Some large public water supply systems lost power capabilities as a result of tropical storm Irene, but emergency power capabilities prevented an interruption in their water […]
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For many without workplace health coverage, premium costs rising
Federal health reform is supposed to give nearly all Americans access to health insurance by 2014, but for many without employer-sponsored insurance, the options until then are getting more costly. As of today, federal subsidies to help laid-off workers keep their health insurance have expired for nearly all recipients. The subsidies, which were available for […]
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Coaching patients to keep them from returning to the hospital
NEW BRITAIN–If you end up in The Hospital of Central Connecticut, you might meet Joyce Kolpa and Tamara Johnson. They’ll visit you after you go home, make a couple follow up calls, even role play if it will help you be a better patient–all with the goal of keeping you from coming back. Patients leaving […]