Anthem Blue Cross Blue and Blue Shield is under fire for a plan to stop allowing its customers in California to pay their insurance premiums through automatic credit card billings. Instead, if a patient wanted to pay their bill via credit card, they would have to call Anthem every month-and in the process incur a […]
Deirdre Shesgreen
Posted inMoney
Delegation divided over Libya funding, authorization
Connecticut’s all-Democratic U.S. House delegation split in this afternoon’s vote on whether to authorize the American military campaign in Libya. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Joe Courtney, of the 2nd and 3rd districts respectively, both supported a resolution Friday to authorize the “limited” use of American armed forces to support the NATO mission in Libya. Reps. […]
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Lieberman, Rubio criticize planned House vote to nix funding for Libya
Sen. Joseph Lieberman is warning his congressional colleagues-Democrats and Republicans alike-against efforts to nix the U.S. military campaign in Libya. Lieberman teamed up with Marco Rubio, a Tea Party conservative from Florida, to pen an oped in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. The piece argues that the U.S. has an “unequivocal national interest in ensuring […]
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Droney gets a brief and cordial hearing on appeals court nomination
WASHINGTON–The Senate Judiciary Committee gave Connecticut’s Christopher Droney a light and breezy 15-minute quizzing at his confirmation hearing Wednesday, with no hard-ball or hostile questions for the appeals court nominee. The top Republican on the panel, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, asked Droney a half-dozen questions, querying him about a colorful quote he gave to […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Larson pushes bill to expand health services for military families with autistic children.
Rep. John Larson introduced legislation Wednesday that would increase health care services for military families with autistic children. Right now, there is a spending cap on behavioral health services for autistic children covered by TRICARE, the military health insurance program. And there’s no coverage for the dependents of military retirees. Karen Driscoll, the wife of […]
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Obama’s Afghanistan plan gets mixed reviews from CT delegation
Several members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation expressed dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, said the president’s proposal “does not go far enough,” noting that the war is now a decade old. “We need to begin a more […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Himes weighs in on Obama’s Afghanistan speech before the prez delivers it
Rep. Jim Himes isn’t waiting to hear what President Barack Obama has to say about U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan tomorrow night. He’s weighing in now, a full 24 hours before the president’s scheduled speech tomorrow night. In a pre-speech statement, the 4th District Democrat hinted that he might not be too happy with what […]
Posted inHealth
Thirty years into HIV/AIDS epidemic, challenges and misperceptions remain
Americans are no more likely to get an HIV test now than they were 14 years ago, and they are less likely to say HIV/AIDS is an urgent health problem. At the same time, the percentage of Americans who say they are “very concerned” about becoming infected with the virus has inched up, and stigma […]
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For one physician, health reform means more time with patients
WASHINGTON–If federal Medicare officials need a star for their new public service ads touting preventive care benefits for seniors, Dr. Rebecca Andrews, a clinic director at the UConn Health Center, would be perfect for the role. Andrews, the Health Center’s associate medical director for general medicine, says her practice-among Medicare patients at least-has been transformed […]
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States review options after high court ruling on global warming lawsuit
WASHINGTON–Connecticut and other states on the losing side of Monday’s Supreme Court ruling limiting their ability to force reductions in greenhouse gas emissions now face a strategic dilemma. Do they count on Washington regulators, working on a high-stakes environmental issue in a politically-charged climate, to push ahead with federal rules requiring power plants to cut […]
Posted inPolitics
Larson weighs in on Weiner, now that resignation is official
Rep. John Larson, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, had been gingerly tiptoeing around the scandal engulfing Rep. Anthony Weiner, the New York Democrat who admitted to sending lewd photos and texts to women via Twitter. But now that Weiner has officially relinquished his House seat, Larson has issued a formal statement. Here it […]
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Food fight: How battles over turf and trade killed an increase in WIC funding
WASHINGTON–When the House Appropriations Committee approved its spending bill for agriculture programs two weeks ago, the measure included a small provision sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro to increase funding for a popular food-assistance program. But DeLauro’s amendment was quietly removed by House Republicans just before the full House began debating the agriculture bill this week. […]
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Connecticut’s 2nd District among those most heavily impacted by GOP Medicare plan
Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District would be among the most heavily impacted in the country by the House Republican Medicare plan, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg, the wire news service. The Bloomberg report looked at which districts had the most people aged 45 to 54-the first segment of Americans who would not have access […]
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Droney confirmation hearing set
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing next week on the nomination of Connecticut’s Christopher Droney to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the 2nd Circuit. Droney, now a U.S. District Court judge, was nominated for the post in May by President Obama. His name was sent to the Senate after Republicans opposed Obama’s […]
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On Medicare, Lieberman is a Gang of One
WASHINGTON — With his sweeping Medicare proposal, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has shown he maintains a knack for generating political buzz and drawing fire, from pundits and politicians. First came the scathing column by the Nobel-Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. “Every once in a while a politician comes up with […]