The Trump administration wants insurers that offer plans through Access Health CT, Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange, and other exchanges nationwide, to send people separate monthly bills for the cost of their abortion coverage — in addition to the bill they get for their regular premium costs.
Mackenzie Rigg
Mackenzie is a former health reporter at CT Mirror. Prior to her time at CT Mirror, she covered health care, social services and immigration for the News-Times in Danbury and has more than a decade of reporting experience. She traveled to Uganda for the News-Times to report an award-winning five-part series about a Connecticut doctor's experience in Africa. A native of upstate New York, she started her journalism career at The Recorder in Greenfield, Mass., and worked at Newsday on Long Island for three years. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she wrote her master's thesis about illegal detentions in Haiti's women's prison.
Posted inPolitics
Hayes declares victory in 5th district, makes Connecticut history
WATERBURY– Jahana Hayes, a progressive political newcomer, declared victory Tuesday night over her Republican opponent in the 5th Congressional District, assuming her place as the first African-American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress.
Posted inPolitics
In cities and suburbs, early turnout high in Connecticut
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was the 280th voter to cast a ballot at his polling place in Hartford’s West End Tuesday morning — just one of the state’s many residents who flocked to the polls Tuesday as officials reported high voter turnout numbers more typical of presidential elections than mid-term Connecticut elections.
Posted inHealth
ACA enrollment begins as voters say health care is top concern
The sixth open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act begins Thursday, as the future of the health care law, and its protections for pre-existing conditions, has emerged as a top concern for voters across the nation in the midterm elections.
Posted inPolitics
Taking the pulse of the gubernatorial candidates’ views on health care
The three leading gubernatorial candidates share their thoughts on several health care issues, including Medicaid work requirements, an individual mandate, the opioid crisis, the hospital tax and Roe v. Wade.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont blasts Stefanowski’s comments on vaccinations
Surrounded by medical providers and state legislators, Democrat Ned Lamont on Wednesday attacked Republican Bob Stefanowski for comments he made about childhood vaccinations during a campaign event this summer.
Posted inHealth
UConn Health seeking a private partner for financial sustainability
UConn Health took the next necessary step in pursuing a public-private partnership on Monday by releasing a “Solicitation of Interest” letter nationally. The letter is a request for proposals from health organizations across the country interested in partnering with the Farmington-based health system.
Posted inHealth
Access Health CT launches new online tool to compare plans
Officials from Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, are urging their customers, especially those who qualify to be automatically re-enrolled in 2019, to explore their options for next year using a new online tool and other resources available through the exchange.
Posted inHealth
CT officials defend opposition of court-ordered mental health treatment
Connecticut recently received an “F” grade in a national report for being one of three states that doesn’t allow the courts to order people with mental illnesses to comply with outpatient treatment. But Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and other key mental health care advocates wouldn’t have it any other way.
Posted inHealth
Connecticut Insurance Department approves CVS-Aetna merger
The Connecticut Insurance Department has approved CVS Health Corp’s $69 billion merger with Hartford-based Aetna Inc.
The approval is contingent on Aetna completing the sale of its standalone Medicare Part D prescription plan business.
Posted inHealth
Number of CT high schoolers vaping doubled over two years
The number of Connecticut high school students who used vaping products, such as e-cigarettes, doubled from 2015 to 2017, according to a new study released by the state Department of Public Health.
Posted inHealth
More than half of CT health care systems in the black in 2017
Nine of the 16 health systems in Connecticut ended 2017 in the black, according to a report by the state Office of Health Strategy. Collectively, the systems took in about $14.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2017. After expenses, this left about $580 million — a 4 percent total margin.
Posted inHealth
CVS, Aetna urge Connecticut regulators to approve proposed acquisition
The Connecticut Insurance Department now has 30 days to decide whether to approve CVS Health Corp.’s acquisition of Hartford-based Aetna Inc. – a merger the companies say will drive down health care costs and opponents portray as anti-competitive and harmful to patients.
Posted inHealth
CT sees sharp decline in uninsured low-income adults in rural areas
Connecticut saw one of the biggest drops in the uninsured rate among low-income adults living in rural areas and small towns compared to other states, according to a national study released this week. The uninsured rate in the state’s sole non-metro county, Litchfield, fell from 32 percent in 2008-09 to 9 percent in 2015-16.
Posted inHealth
CT docs say health information exchange would help fight opioid epidemic
As Connecticut residents continue to die from opioid overdoses at an alarming rate, several doctors agree that being able to share health records electronically across the entire state would help fight the epidemic. But a system to accommodate that sharing remains elusive.