Merger talks between two Waterbury hospitals and a Texas company have reached an impasse over how to offer reproductive services for women. All parties have pledged to continue meeting, but their previously quiet negotiations spilled into public view this week when the state’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women objected to the most recent […]
Grace Merritt
Posted inHealth
UConn, Jackson Labs to hold genomics summit this week
The University of Connecticut will host a two-day symposium starting Thursday on genomics that will highlight UConn’s partnership with The Jackson Laboratory. The conference will feature speakers from the university and Jackson Laboratory, a Maine-based genetic research institute touted as key to Connecticut’s new bioscience initiative in Farmington. The General Assembly and Gov. Dannel P. […]
Posted inMoney
Ex-Navy captain, CPA to lead state’s health exchange
A former leader at ConnectiCare and Aetna was named the chief operating officer of the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman announced Wednesday. Peter Van Loon, a former Navy captain with 25 years of experience in health care technology and finance operation, will join the executive team as COO for the quasi-public entity […]
Posted inHealth
Connecticut health insurance rate increases driven by rising costs, not the Affordable Care Act, filings show
The double-digit rate increases recently granted to one and sought by two other large Connecticut health insurers are due mostly to increasing medical costs and only minimally to the impact of the Affordable Care Act, filings by the companies show.
Posted inNews
Four West Nile Virus cases so far, but more are likely
Public health officials have reported two new cases of West Nile virus, bringing the number of cases in Connecticut this month to four. The new cases in Stamford and Bridgeport follow a trend of outbreaks along the shoreline and come on the heels of cases in New Haven and Stamford. The newest cases, reported Thursday, […]
Posted inNews
Three major insurers seek up to 14 percent rate hike for small business coverage
In recent weeks, Aetna, ConnectiCare and Anthem all have requested rate hikes of 13 to 14 percent for small-business coverage. That’s just below the 15 percent threshold that could trigger a public hearing on the proposed increases. The requests have some health care advocates questioning whether increases are still too high. Insurance companies say the […]
Posted inNews
Beating Bysiewicz, Murphy launches attack on McMahon
New Haven — After handily defeating former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy wasted no time launching what is sure to be an expensive, highly charged race against Republican opponent Linda McMahon for Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate seat. The three-term representative quickly portrayed himself as the champion who […]
Posted inHealth
Committee shaping plan to collect life-saving umbilical cord blood
Hoping to collect a wider variety of potentially life-saving stem cells, a state committee wants to launch a public umbilical-cord blood collection program by the end of the year. Under the plan, Connecticut mothers who have just delivered babies could opt to donate their post-birth umbilical cord and placenta to a public blood bank. The donated […]
Posted inHealth
Two state doctors’ networks named to oversee care, cost for Medicare patients
The federal government has designated two Connecticut doctor networks as “accountable care organizations” responsible for controlling costs and providing more coordinated medical care for Medicare patients. PriMed Inc. of Shelton and MPS ACO Physicians LLC of Middletown were among 89 designated as ACOs nationally Monday by the federal government. These ACOs, part of the Affordable […]
Posted inNews
UConn researcher’s focus: Could stem cells slow the aging process?
Morgan Carlson’s earliest memory is the day he found out that his mother and father would someday die. “I broke down and began screaming and yelling when I realized my parents were going to die and that I, too, was going to die,” he said. He has always been troubled about the idea of the […]
Posted inNews
Recent death of child impels DCF chief to propose new guidelines for hospitals
Hartford Hospital Emergency room doctor Alise Frallicciardi Monday gently rolled over the lifelike baby mannequin in the hospital bed and discovered several long bleeding cuts on his back. She asked Stephen P. Donahue, a hospital trainer playing the part of the baby’s well-dressed but evasive father, what happened. “I never saw that. I don’t know […]
Posted inHealth
Connecticut businesses concerned about ruling’s impact
Groups representing Connecticut businesses Thursday were wary of the Supreme Court’s landmark health care decision, concerned it will drive up costs and even prompt some small businesses to stop offering health insurance altogether.
Posted inNews
Stem cell research: UConn professor tracks cause of rare, genetic eating disorder
Like a code breaker, researcher Stormy Chamberlain is trying to find identification marks and figure out which is the “on” switch in a set of genes. If she can solve the puzzle, she hopes to correct a rare, genetic disease that causes a person to have an insatiable appetite, often leading to obesity. Her work […]
Posted inNews
Children’s hospital, Anthem reach agreement
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year deal, ending a two-month-long dispute and uncertainty for patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to reach an agreement after a […]
Posted inNews
Children’s Hospital, Anthem reach agreement after two-month standoff
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year agreement, ending a two-month dispute that led to uncertainty and confusion for many patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to […]