Implementing health reform could strain the capacity of state government workforces at a time when tight budgets make hiring new employees difficult, a new report warns.
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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Malloy proposes state-backed center for autism services
NEW BRITAIN–Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy on Thursday proposed creating a center for autism and developmental disabilities that would bring together resources for diagnosing, treating and coordinating care for people with autism spectrum disorders. The center would be a private non-profit, but the state would play a key role in better coordinating the work of […]
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Will docs shun Medicare over rates?
A looming 23 percent cut in Medicare payments and uncertainty about whether Congress will reverse it has fueled concerns that doctors will stop taking Medicare patients just as the first wave of baby boomers enrolls in the program. Earlier this month, the five-doctor Mansfield Family Practice stopped accepting new Medicare patients. Nationally, nearly one in […]
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Census: Level of uninsured holds steady despite poor economy
The proportion of Connecticut residents without health insurance held steady at 8.8 percent in 2009, while the rate of children without coverage dropped to 3.8 percent, according to census estimates released Tuesday. That might not be a bad showing for a year that included a recession and net job losses every month. But the figures […]
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Marsh on health care: A personal view
Tom Marsh draws from personal experience when he talks about health care. The Republican-turned-Independent Party candidate for governor speaks of having no health insurance just two months before his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, giving him an understanding of the pitfalls faced by people who can’t afford insurance. Tom Marsh He recalls caring for […]
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Health care reforms: A guide
Some of the first major changes under the health reform law take effect on its six-month anniversary today. Well, sort of. The changes affect new plans now, but won’t apply to existing plans until they’re renewed. For many people with health insurance, that will be Jan. 1. Some of the changes apply to everyone with […]
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Foley health plan: From welless programs to scrapping mandates
NEW BRITAIN – Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley on Thursday outlined a plan that he said would lower the cost of health care and improve its quality, calling for policies ranging from promoting wellness to allowing some employers to offer “bare bones” health insurance plans that don’t provide all benefits state law requires. Tom Foley […]
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Federal rule hampers enrollment in new state insurance plan
The state’s new insurance plan for people with pre-existing conditions, one of the first programs made available under the federal health reform law, offers lower premiums than the high-risk plans the state already offers. But for close to 2,000 people in those existing plans, the new pool offers little benefit because of something known as a “crowd out” rule.
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Malloy: ‘Find the balance’ between healthcare and the budget
Gubernatorial candidate Dannel P. Malloy has lots of ideas for improving the state’s health care system. But he offers fewer details on how he would balance the competing demands of health spending and budget cutting.
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Few state physicians treat chronic Lyme disease, survey says
Only a small fraction of Connecticut primary-care physicians diagnose and treat chronic Lyme disease, while far more doctors believe the controversial condition does not exist, according to a survey of doctors published this month in The Journal of Pediatrics. But more than half of the physicians who said they were undecided or did not believe […]
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Panel recommends delaying changes to HUSKY insurance program
The HUSKY insurance program won’t be moving out of managed care just yet, but changes could still be coming. Legislators earlier this year authorized the state to change the way the HUSKY and Charter Oak health plans are managed, a move anticipated to save $76 million this fiscal year. But on Friday, the Medicaid Care […]
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Connecticut doctors slow to adopt electronic record-keeping
The federal government is set to roll out a massive incentive program aimed at making electronic record-keeping the standard in health care. But Connecticut doctors lag behind when it comes to making changes that experts say could save time and money, reduce medical errors and duplicate tests, and improve patient care. Among state doctors, 25.8 […]
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Foley: Health care costs can be cut 15% with no benefit loss
Tom Foley doesn’t like the federal health reform law–he’d rather see it repealed and replaced with something that cuts costs. He believes the state budget needs to shrink by at least 10 percent. And in health care, which accounts for nearly a third of state spending, he sees a plum source for savings.
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Most uninsured children eligible for assistance, new study says
Nearly two-thirds of uninsured children in the U.S. are eligible for a public health insurance program, according to a new study. The study, released as Washington is pushing for coverage of more children, says Connecticut does better than the country as a whole, with a higher rate of children participating in public insurance programs. Even […]
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Will Rell’s Charter Oak Health Plan initiative survive when she leaves?
The Charter Oak Health Plan was one of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s most prized initiatives, providing health coverage for uninsured adults. But it’s not clear how long the program will last after Rell leaves office.