Efforts to change Medicare have sparked a backlash, and a new poll indicates that many Americans also oppose changes to Medicaid, the entitlement program for the poor and disabled. The opposition to cutting Medicaid spending or significantly changing the program could stem in part from the program’s widespread reach, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, […]

Connecticut was among seven states to receive an “A” grade for its oral health care policies for children, according to the Pew Center on the States’ annual report card on children’s dental health. The report card ranks states on eight policy benchmarks. Connecticut met six, the same as last year. The state tops the national […]

The Connecticut Insurance Department has rejected a request by The American Republic Insurance Company to raise premiums by an average of 35 percent for individual-market health plans, ruling that it would be excessive. The proposal would have affected 81 policyholders in the state. The covered policies are “grandfathered,” meaning they do not have to comply […]

A proposal to ban a controversial provision used in contracts between health care providers and insurance companies passed the House by a vote of 140-0 Thursday. It now goes to the Senate. The provision, known as a most favored nation clause, requires a hospital or health care provider to give an insurance company the lowest […]

A bill legalizing marijuana for medical use was voted out of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee Tuesday. The bill gives physicians the authority to write prescriptions that would permit their patients to grow marijuana indoors. The current bill does not provide for operation of marijuana dispensaries, as other states’ laws do, but some backers are […]

The incidence of prostate cancer has declined in recent years, but the use of prostatectomy increased by nearly 50 percent from 2005 to 2008, coinciding with the adoption of robotic technology for the procedure, Charles Bankhead of MedPage Today reports. The findings, by a research team led by Dr. Hugh J. Lavery of Mount Sinai […]

Three states are considering making it illegal for doctors to ask patients if they have a gun at home, pitting those who say the questions violate patients’ Second Amendment rights against those who say restricting the questions would violate the First Amendment, Rita Rubin of USA Today reports. The Florida legislature has already passed a […]

Enrollment in the recently created insurance program for people with pre-existing conditions is up nationally, but in Connecticut, only 51 people were participating by the end of March, according to new federal figures. And the 18,313 people participating nationally is still far below the 200,000 the Congressional Budget Office estimated would be enrolled by 2013, […]

St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to a settlement with 32 plaintiffs suing the hospital for negligence related to Dr. George Reardon, an endocrinologist who worked at the hospital for three decades and is believed to have sexually abused as many as 500 children. The settlement came as a jury was scheduled to […]

Physicians are more likely to monitor black patients prescribed opioid painkillers, even though research suggests that white patients are more likely to abuse the drugs, according to a study published in the Annals of Family Medicine. The observational study, led by Yale University School of Medicine instructor Dr. William C. Becker, was based on 1,612 […]

Starting this summer, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals will become teaching hospitals. The hospitals and their parent company, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, are affiliated with the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Beginning in August, third-year medical students will begin training at the hospitals, which will also provide training to fourth-year medical students […]

Physicians in Connecticut are trying not only to attend to their patients’ health needs but also to better understand their diverse cultures — with more than half of the physicians in the state having completed culture awareness courses. A survey released two years ago by the Connecticut State Medical Society revealed few doctors had such […]

Federal health reform will extend Medicaid health coverage to an additional 100,000 Connecticut residents, but a new survey shows they may not have a doctor willing or able to accept their Medicaid coverage. The national survey of nearly 1,500 family physicians, general practitioners and internists found most of those currently accepting Medicaid patients have limited […]

The state violated federal law when it increased the premiums for many of those receiving the state’s Husky B health insurance plan, the state Department of Social Services has announced. The state is required by the Affordable Care Act to maintain current premium levels; it is now in the process of reimbursing clients who paid […]