Health

The Connecticut State Medical Society swore in its new president Saturday and honored a New Haven cardiologist who helped found a program to coordinate donated care for uninsured patients. Dr. Michael M. Krinsky, a neurologist who practices in the Hartford area, became the medical society’s 173rd president. Krinsky previously served as president of the Hartford […]

The state has received a five-year federal grant that will provide as much as $10 million to help Medicaid recipients quit smoking, state officials announced Friday. The grant award comes as the state prepares to begin covering smoking cessation services through Medicaid in January, becoming one of the last states to do so. The state […]

Gregory Warner of Marketplace takes a look at the complicated role that health care plays in the economy. He visits Oakland County, Mich., where local officials see building hospitals as a way to boost the economy by creating recession-proof jobs. The problem, critics say, is that having half-full hospitals competing for the same privately insured […]

Ninety-six percent of the employees covered by the state health care plan have enrolled in a new wellness plan that was the subject of controversy surrounding a union concession package earlier this year. State Comptroller Kevin Lembo announced Friday that more than 50,000 state employees enrolled in the Health Enhancement Program, which begins Oct. 1. […]

The state has a backlog of 205 rape kits waiting to be processed, something that is expected to take more than six months to complete, according to a report by the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research. Another 40 cases that have been processed are awaiting DNA analysis, which could take an estimated five months, […]

The number of people in the U.S. without health insurance increased slightly in 2010, while the share of Americans with private insurance continued to fall and more relied on government coverage, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday. In 2010, 256.2 million people has health insurance and 49.9 million did not; both […]

More than 208,000 low-income households in the state received additional benefits to replace food spoiled by power outages or flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, according to the state Department of Social Services. The benefits are available to people who were, at the time of Irene, enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly […]

The SustiNet Health Care Cabinet, an advisory board created as part of a compromise on the proposed SustiNet state-run health plan, will hold its first meeting Monday. The cabinet will be led by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and includes 16 members appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, legislative leaders and the board that developed the […]

Promoting pharmaceuticals is a big-money business, and reporters at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning independent newsroom devoted to investigative journalism in the public interest, have been tracking the cash flow. This week, ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Dan Nguyen reported that eight drug companies spent more than $220 million on promotional speakers for their products […]

Connecticut’s long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities ranked 11th in the nation in a scorecard of states released Thursday by The Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation. Connecticut led the nation in limiting staff turnover in nursing homes; the state’s 18.7 percent turnover rate less than half the median rate of […]

The Virginia case, brought by state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, was considered one of the highest profile health law challenges to the health law. In its opinion, issued today, the appellate court ruled that the state does not have standing to challenge the law’s individual mandate because it lacks “a personal stake.” It also concluded that Liberty University’s challenge […]

Eastern Connecticut Health Network, the parent company of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, announced Tuesday that it will terminate its contract with UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans as of Oct. 15. At that point, the hospitals would be out of the insurers’ networks, and patients covered by those plans would face out-of-network rates if […]

As of Monday afternoon, 86 public drinking water systems were subject to a boil water advisory, down from 144 on Friday, according to the state Department of Public Health. They are: Woodlawn Apartments, LLC, Ashford Mar-Lea Park Apts, Ashford Elmwood Court LLC, Bethel Sunset Apartments, Bolton 168 Boston Turnpike, Bolton Brooklyn Manor, Brooklyn Longview Estates, […]

New London’s Lawrence & Memorial Hospital announced Wednesday that it is exploring a possible merger or affiliation with The Westerly Hospital of Rhode Island, becoming the latest in a series of hospitals to consider joining forces. The two hospitals have signed an exclusive, nonbinding letter of intent to explore a possible alliance, allowing them to […]