Advocates for seniors are fighting a proposal by the Malloy administration that aims to save close to $30 million a year by reducing the amount of assets a person can keep if his or her spouse is in a nursing home and receiving Medicaid coverage. They say the proposal, which would reverse a change made […]

The Malloy administration and Democratic legislative leaders have reached an agreement on the proposed SustiNet state-run health plan, with a deal that calls for opening the state employee health plan to municipalities and some nonprofits, but not for offering insurance to the public. The agreement would also establish a “SustiNet cabinet” advisory panel within the […]

One prominent doctor called it the greatest risk to health. Another called it a threat to national security. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called it a scandal. The topic at a town hall meeting in Hartford Tuesday wasn’t cancer, radiation or any other medical concern that frequently makes headlines. It was health disparities, the well–documented but […]

On a visit to a Vermont homeless shelter for veterans, Maj. L. Tammy Duckworth met a man who lived there with his wife and two young children. She asked if he was looking for a job. No, he told her. He was a member of the Vermont National Guard, and he was getting ready to […]

WATERBURY–Robin Stewart and her husband got to Wilby High School around 10:30 Friday night, early enough to secure a parking spot and a place in line. The Stonington couple had packed their car with pillows, blankets, a sleeping bag and food for the overnight wait to see a dentist for free. Robin Stewart waited overnight […]

According to controversial new data released by the federal government, foreign objects were left in Medicare patients after surgery four times at one Connecticut hospital from October 2008 through June 2010. From the data, you could learn that Medicare patients at 10 Connecticut hospitals got severe bed sores during that time, and all but one […]

A legislative plan to tax the state’s two active nuclear power plants could threaten jobs, send the wrong message to businesses and lead to higher electricity rates, lawmakers, municipal officials, business and labor leaders and the operators of the plants warned Wednesday. “This targeted, seemingly vindictive initiative would undermine and destabilize an entire region of […]

Policymakers working to reshape the way long-term care is delivered in the state have long criticized what they call an institutional bias: Anyone who qualifies can get Medicaid coverage to live in a nursing home, but getting Medicaid to pay for home care is complicated. To qualify, someone must fit into one of several specific […]

With a potential federal government shutdown hours away, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy addressed reporters and television cameras Friday afternoon, saying he hoped to allay residents’ fears about what it could mean for them. “I have decided to treat this as any other crisis or potential crisis that might face the people of Connecticut, and that […]

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the state can cut off medical assistance to legal noncitizens who have been in the country fewer than five years, clearing the way to implement a 2009 budget cut that had been stalled because of legal action. Since the 1996 federal welfare reform law, states have been prohibited […]

The state has received a $1 million federal grant to develop a system for coordinating care for seniors and adults with disabilities who are covered by both Medicaid and Medicare. People covered by both programs, known as “dual eligibles,” make up 19 percent of the state’s Medicaid beneficiaries but 58 percent of the program’s expenses, […]

NEW BRITAIN–Dr. Lawrence Koch began practicing medicine in what he calls “the golden era.” For 27 years, he cared for patients in his private practice. But in the mid-1990s, as payment rates from Medicare and private insurers declined and paperwork increased, requiring more employees to handle it, Koch gave up ownership of his practice and […]

The fourth annual Connecticut Mission of Mercy will be held next weekend, and organizers expect the free dental clinic will serve more than 2,000 people. The clinic will be held Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Wilby High School in Waterbury. Dental services including cleanings, fillings, X-rays, […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy selected the longtime leader of a shoreline nonprofit agency that serves people with disabilities to lead the state Department of Developmental Services. Terrence W. Macy, who has been executive director of SARAH Tuxis Residential & Community Resources since 1990, will take over an agency that serves more than 19,000 people with […]

Opponents of the proposed SustiNet state-run health insurance plan say a nonpartisan report showing the plan could cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year will be a significant blow to the proposal. Supporters, meanwhile, took issue with the analysis and issued competing projections suggesting the plan could save the state money. The […]