As state lawmakers debate the state’s treatment of hospitals, here’s a look at what Connecticut spends on hospitals, how it’s changed over the years and what the governor’s recent cuts to the industry affect.
Health
Stories about health care access and affordability in CT, as well as abortion, COVID, health equity and disparities, health systems and social determinants of health.
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Access Health CT says uninsured rate lower than Census figures
Connecticut’s health insurance exchange released an analysis Thursday suggesting that the state’s uninsured rate this year is 3.8 percent, but that figure comes with some caveats.
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In Windham Hospital service cuts, some see sign of the future
Most of Connecticut’s 29 hospitals are in or joining larger systems, raising the possibility that parent companies will seek to consolidate services rather than offering every type of care at each hospital in their network. Does the state have the proper oversight to address cuts in what services hospitals deliver?
Posted inHealth, Politics
Congressional scrutiny of fetal tissue research threatens work at UConn, Yale
WASHINGTON – Justin Cotney uses embryonic tissue for his research as the University of Connecticut health center into why some children develop cleft palate. But the use of fetal tissue from abortions is now coming under attack by conservative Republicans who have been thwarted in their attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Malloy to restore funding for smaller hospitals
The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is making a strategic concession in the bitter political fight over hospital funding cuts by restoring $14.1 million to a half-dozen of the state’s smaller hospitals.
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Auditors question Access Health’s information security
In a report released Tuesday, state auditors cited concerns raised by a security expert who reviewed the Access Health insurance exchange following a 2014 security breach. They suggested that the quasi-public agency develop a system for responding to security deficiencies.
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Hospital for Special Care opening state’s first autism inpatient unit
The Hospital for Special Care announced plans to open an eight-bed inpatient unit next month for young people with autism spectrum disorders as well as aggression, self-injury or severely impaired functioning – something hospital officials and advocates say will be an alternative to children being sent to out-of-state facilities, treatment progams that don’t meet their needs, or getting stuck in an emergency room while waiting for services.
Posted inHealth, Money
Hartford HealthCare, Day Kimball suspend talks, citing state’s ‘reckless’ cuts
Hartford HealthCare and the parent company of Day Kimball Hospital say they have suspended plans to consider an affiliation because of “severe and unexpected” cuts in Medicaid payments, a reference to $192 million in funding reductions Gov. Dannel P. Malloy made to hospitals last month.
Posted inHealth, Money
About one in four who lost HUSKY signed up for insurance
About one in four low-income parents who lost Medicaid coverage in September signed up for a private health plan through the state’s health insurance exchange before the deadline last week – a total of 166 people.
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Hospitals could face larger cut
The governor cut $192 million in Medicaid funding for hospitals last month, but the actual hit to hospitals could end up being 25 percent higher. The state is holding back additional payments that weren’t part of the cost-saving measure, and the governor’s budget office said decisions about whether to pay them will be “based on whether we have enough money to keep the budget in balance.”
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Connecticut Children’s Medical Center names new CEO
James E. Shmerling, a longtime hospital executive, will become president and CEO of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford next month, the hospital announced Thursday.
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Middlesex Hospital joins Mayo Clinic’s clinical network
Middlesex Hospital is joining a clinical care network run by the Mayo Clinic, an arrangement designed to give doctors at the Middletown hospital access to consultations with Mayo experts, hospital officials said Thursday.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Aetna, Anthem merger plans under scrutiny, again, by Congress
WASHINGTON – Members of both political parties expressed increasing skepticism Tuesday when they continued their scrutiny of the proposed mergers of insurance giants Aetna and Humana and Anthem and Cigna.
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Specialty drug prices threaten health care affordability
The state employee health plan has tailored its design to encourage people to manage chronic conditions, get preventive care and avoid emergency room visits. But costs are being driven up by the rising expense of specialty drugs for conditions including Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and cancer. It’s a challenge that’s not unique to the state employee health plans, health care experts said Tuesday.
Posted inHealth, Politics
House panel grills Access Health CEO, other exchange chiefs
WASHINGTON – As part of a renewed attack on the Affordable Care Act, House Republicans grilled Access Health CEO James Wadleigh and the heads of other state marketplaces on Tuesday, saying they had wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on an effort that has raised health insurance deductibles and premiums.