Many emergency department directors at Connecticut hospitals say their departments expedite care for very important persons and see doing so as “vaguely unethical but necessary,” according to a letter written by Hartford Hospital emergency medicine director Dr. A.J. Smally and published this month in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine. Smally and four colleagues wrote […]

Connecticut has the second-highest incidence of breast cancer in the country, but is among the lower third of states when it comes to breast cancer deaths, according to a report released Monday by the Connecticut affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer advocacy organization. To give a picture of breast cancer […]

Sen. Joe Markley, the ranking Republican on the Human Services Committee, has asked state auditors to investigate claims of fraud involving benefits distributed by the state Department of Social Services this month to make up for losses incurred in Tropical Storm Irene. In a letter to the auditors, Markley questioned how eligibility for the benefits […]

The Department of Social Services has selected Community Health Network of Connecticut Inc. to negotiate a contract to administer Medicaid and the state’s other public health care programs, which serve nearly 600,000 people. The Wallingford-based nonprofit currently serves as one of three managed care companies that administer the HUSKY program for mostly low-income children and […]

Plans for a merger between Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Hospital of St. Raphael are moving forward. The hospitals announced Wednesday that they have signed an agreement and will now seek approval from state and federal regulators. The plan must be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office, the state Office of Health Care Access, […]

The interim leader of the University of Connecticut Health Center told a room full of top university officials that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will likely make a big announcement next week that a “major scientific group” will relocate to Connecticut. Philip E. Austin said the move will likely create hundreds of jobs and is directly […]

Autism treatment advocates have won one legislative battle after another since 2007, most recently in California, which sent a bill to the governor this month mandating that insurers cover the disorder. Now more than half the states have such requirements, but that success could be in jeopardy as federal officials set new national standards for health […]

Tuesday is the last day to apply for benefits to make up for losses incurred during Tropical Storm Irene, but people in line when the Department of Social Services offices close will be issued “rain check” vouchers to return for application processing. The benefits are available to low-income state residents who do not currently receive […]

Health insurance coverage among young adults has increased while coverage for other age groups barely budged, a change that federal officials are linking to last year’s health reform law, which lets children stay on their parents’ health plans until turning 26. The percentage of Americans aged 19 to 25 with health insurance rose from 66.1 […]

Police officers will receive training in communicating with people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as part of a partnership between the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association and the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter, the groups announced during a press conference outside the state Capitol Wednesday. There are 5.4 million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s, including 70,000 […]

Low-income state residents who incurred expenses from Tropical Storm Irene could be eligible for federal aid through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to the state Department of Social Services. Applications for the aid will be available beginning Wednesday at all 12 DSS field offices. The application period will continue each weekday through Tuesday, […]