Many experts look to Massachusetts, which enacted a universal health care law four years ago, for a sneak peek at life after health reform. And according to a new study, the picture includes significant physician shortages.
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.
Dive Deeper: Abortion · Access Health CT · COVID-19 · CT Rural Hospitals
Posted inHealth
Federal official blasts state Insurance Department over Anthem rate hikes
A federal official in charge of insurance oversight on Monday blasted the Connecticut Insurance Department for approving “extremely large” premium increases for the insurer Anthem, and called on the department to hold a hearing on the changes.
Posted inHealth
Poll: A month before the election, Americans still split on health care reform
Americans remain divided on the health reform law, but more voters consider the economy more important in deciding how they will vote, according to poll results released Monday.
Posted inHealth
On health care, sides agree on where to go, not how to get there
Two experts of opposite political stripes both predicted the demise of the employer-based health care system and said the nation must still find a way to control health care spending. They agreed on the need to give everyone access to health care at a cost individuals and society can afford. What they disagree on is how to engineer it.
Posted inHealth
Federal health care reform will put new demands on shrinking state workforce
Implementing health reform could strain the capacity of state government workforces at a time when tight budgets make hiring new employees difficult, a new report warns.
Posted inHealth
Federal rule hampers enrollment in new state insurance plan
The state’s new insurance plan for people with pre-existing conditions, one of the first programs made available under the federal health reform law, offers lower premiums than the high-risk plans the state already offers. But for close to 2,000 people in those existing plans, the new pool offers little benefit because of something known as a “crowd out” rule.
Posted inHealth
Malloy: ‘Find the balance’ between healthcare and the budget
Gubernatorial candidate Dannel P. Malloy has lots of ideas for improving the state’s health care system. But he offers fewer details on how he would balance the competing demands of health spending and budget cutting.
Posted inHealth
Foley: Health care costs can be cut 15% with no benefit loss
Tom Foley doesn’t like the federal health reform law–he’d rather see it repealed and replaced with something that cuts costs. He believes the state budget needs to shrink by at least 10 percent. And in health care, which accounts for nearly a third of state spending, he sees a plum source for savings.
Posted inHealth
Will Rell’s Charter Oak Health Plan initiative survive when she leaves?
The Charter Oak Health Plan was one of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s most prized initiatives, providing health coverage for uninsured adults. But it’s not clear how long the program will last after Rell leaves office.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Stem cells, law and politics at Yale
NEW HAVEN — Science and politics met awkwardly Thursday afternoon at a Yale forum on stem cell research promoted by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s campaign for U.S. Senate. Blumenthal told scientists and research advocates that he would do whatever he could as attorney general and a potential senator to reverse a judge’s ruling that halts […]
Posted inHealth
State struggles to implement health care reform
Huge. Complex. Difficult. These are just a few of the adjectives Cristine Vogel throws out as she tries to describe her new job: special adviser to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for health care reform.
Posted inHealth
New Medicaid patients could test state’s physician network
Connecticut stands to see its Medicaid patient caseload surge starting in 2014 as national health care legislation opens the door to as many as 150,000 new patients over a six-year period, according to a new study.
Posted inHealth
Insurers shift focus to health reform rules
WASHINGTON — For Aetna and other insurers, the battle over health-care reform is not over. It has just shifted to new decision-makers, a more obscure process, and a series of questions that are narrower, yet still significant.