What kinds of health care spending cuts and policy tweaks are on the table for the congressional super committee charged with coming up with more than $1 trillion in debt-reduction by Thanksgiving? Politico has a good starter list in this report, which also captures the reflective positions likely to be offered up by each party’s […]
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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New England among the costliest for individual health plans
Premiums for individual market health plans vary widely across the country, with Connecticut and New England among the most expensive, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average monthly per-person premium nationwide last year was $215, but the costs varied significantly between states. In Vermont and Massachusetts, premiums averaged more than $400 […]
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Primary care doctors sue over Medicare rates
Six primary care doctors in Georgia have filed a lawsuit aimed at changing the way Medicare payments to doctors are established, Joe Eaton reports for The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News. At the heart of the dispute is a little-known body known as the Specialty Society Relative Value Update Committee, or RUC. The committee, […]
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St. Francis, Johnson Memorial to explore affiliation
The parent companies of Hartford’s St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs are exploring an affiliation, the latest in a series of possible hospital mergers and alliances in the state. According to a statement released by the two organizations, the proposed affiliation would “help maintain an inpatient hospital presence […]
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Walmart, Dunkin’ Donuts top employers of HUSKY recipients
Walmart, Dunkin’ Donuts, Stop & Shop, McDonald’s, and the First Student transportation company employ the most workers whose families rely on the state’s HUSKY health insurance program for low-income children and their parents, according to a report by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research. The report identified the 25 companies with the most employees who […]
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DPH: Funeral home licensing won’t be cut
The state Department of Public Health says it will not stop licensing funeral homes, funeral directors or embalmers, despite announcing plans earlier in the week to do so. On Monday, the department released a statement detailing its plans for cutting $20.6 million over two years. It said that, “DPH will no longer license funeral homes, […]
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New data on HIV infections suggests troubling trend
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while the overall number of people who are infected with HIV each year is relatively steady – approximately 50,000 new infections each year – there was a 48 percent increase in the number of young HIV-infected African American men who have sex with […]
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An in-depth discussion of the legal challenges to health reform
Need a primer on the web of legal challenges to the health reform law? SCOTUSblog will be hosting an online symposium for the next two weeks on the Affordable Care Act and the high court, if and when the Supreme Court will examine the law, what the legal questions will be, and how the justices […]
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Health Center NICU transfer gets green light
Plans to transfer operation of the neonatal intensive care unit from UConn’s John Dempsey Hospital to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center received final approval this week, clearing the way forward for a key piece of the $864 million plan to expand and renovate the UConn Health Center. After the transfer, which is expected to take place […]
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Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan premiums being lowered for most members
The state has received federal approval to set a flat premium for its Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, allowing anyone who qualifies to get coverage for $381 a month, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. The new rate will take effect Sept. 1. Currently, the premiums vary by age, with rates as high as $893 a month. […]
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Health insurance explained, and animated
If you’ve been meaning to learn about health insurance regulation but were turned off by the lack of animated options, the Oregon Insurance Division has just the explainer for you. The 7-minute video provides the division’s answers to why insurance costs so much, how premium costs are set, how the insurance division regulates health insurance, […]
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DPH to end licensing for funeral homes, embalmers, some clinics
As part of a plan to cut $20.6 million in two years, the state Department of Public Health will stop licensing funeral homes, funeral directors and embalmers, college infirmaries, and certain types of clinics, the department announced Monday. The cuts stem from a budget gap created when state employee unions rejected a concession deal aimed […]
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States all over the map on exchange creation
The Kaiser Family Foundation reported Wednesday on states’ progress in developing one of the key pieces of federal health reform, the health insurance exchange, and found that Connecticut is among the states furthest along. The federal reform law requires each state to have a health insurance exchange–a marketplace for buying coverage–by 2014. The exchanges will […]
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Hartford Hospital getting new CEO
Hartford Hospital will get a new CEO next week, while its current chief executive will continue to lead the hospital’s parent company. Jeffrey A. Flaks, Hartford Hospital’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, will become CEO Monday. President and CEO Elliot Joseph will remain president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, the parent company. “Hartford […]
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Disability insurance program a target in debt talks
Health care spending is a target in every debt-reduction package that’s being talked about in Washington these days. One program that’s currently in the bulls-eye: the so-called CLASS Act, or Community Living Assistance Services and Supports. It was created under federal health reform to increase health care options for people with disabilities, seen as a […]