Can you keep an old insurance plan purchased at the end of last year to avoid the new Obamacare rules? And why does federal law on abortion mean that some Connecticut residents are paying $1 in premiums each month?
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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Posted inHealth, Politics
CT GOP candidates prescribe over-the-counter birth control pills
WASHINGTON – To counter Democratic attacks that they are soldiers in a “war against women” some GOP candidates across the nation, including at least two in Connecticut, are advocating for changing federal laws to allow the purchase of over-the-counter birth control.
Posted inHealth
DCF unveils plan for overhaul of children’s mental health care
A new state blueprint for children’s mental health services recommends standardized screening and enhanced school services, better training for all caregivers and the “pooling” of hundreds of millions in public funds to more effectively finance vital programs.
Posted inHealth
How much will Obamacare insurance cost for you next year?
Wondering what it will cost to buy insurance next year? Here’s an interactive guide to help you out, based on the cost of standard plans sold through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange.
Posted inHealth
What is this form? The explanation of benefits
Kathy Walsh’s job is to help Connecticut residents deal confusing parts of the health care and insurance system. And one common culprit is a form known as the “explanation of benefits.” Here’s how to understand it.
Posted inHealth
Introducing The Mirror’s Health Care User Guide
Confused about Obamacare or the rest of the health care system? We’re here to help.
Posted inHealth
Access Health CT’s IT chief to lead agency as interim boss
Jim Wadleigh, the top information technology official at Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, will lead the agency on an interim basis after chief executive Kevin Counihan leaves for a top federal job next week.
Posted inHealth
Access Health’s Counihan to run federal Obamacare marketplace
[Updated: 2:10 p.m.]
Kevin Counihan is resigning as the chief executive of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange to lead the once-troubled federal Obamacare marketplace. State officials announced a national search for a successor.
Posted inHealth, Politics
More gun laws could be the ‘beginning to the end’ of domestic violence
A News21 investigation found that more people were murdered by intimate partners with guns than by criminals they didn’t know. Analysis of FBI data showed at least 3,464 people were shot to death in an act of domestic violence from 2008 to 2012, compared to 3,226 people killed in the same period — by guns or other means — by attackers they did not know, or where the relationship to the victim was unknown.
Posted inHealth
Obamacare Q&A: Health insurance costs and options for 2015
Will you be buying your own health care coverage for next year? Here’s a look at what you need to know about the prices and plan options.
Posted inHealth
Suicide with a gun twice as likely as homicide — about 50 people per day
This gun shop keeps suicide hotline information readily available for its customers. [Photo by Jacob Byk.] LAS VEGAS — Americans are twice as likely to die from turning guns on themselves as they are to be murdered with one. A national News21 analysis of 2012 data found 18,602 firearm suicides in 44 states compared with […]
Posted inHealth
Future of Obamacare enrollment assistance still being determined
Officials say the in-person assistance program that helped thousands of state residents sign up for health care coverage last fall and winter will be back this fall for the next round of Obamacare enrollment. But it’s not clear where the money for it will come from, and some assisters worry because there’s been no public plan for it so far.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Fact check: What impact did Obamacare have on CT’s uninsured rate?
The number of uninsured in Connecticut likely dropped significantly after the major pieces of Obamacare took effect. But though officials say otherwise, the data aren’t yet available to say with confidence how much it dropped.
Posted inHealth
CT’s individual insurance market grew 55 percent under Obamacare
Data from the Connecticut Insurance Department show that more than half the people who bought their own health insurance last year have maintained their old policies. But more than 50,000 of them won’t be able to keep their health plans beyond this year, potentially setting up a repeat of last fall’s turmoil and frustration among people whose policies were discontinued.
Posted inHealth
After rate hike rejected, Anthem to decrease premiums next year
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s individual-market customers will, on average, see a slight decrease in their premiums next year under new rates approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department. The company initially sought to raise rates by an average of 12.5 percent, but the Connecticut Insurance Department said no.