Kevin Counihan used to run the health insurance exchanges that serve most of the United States. Now he’s a customer. He talked to The Mirror about efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, why the health law has gotten more popular since Barack Obama left office, how to keep insurance companies from fleeing exchanges, and what can be done to make it easier to buy coverage.
Kevin Counihan on the ACA: ‘Whatever happens, Trump is going to own this’
Posted inNews
Conflict over immigration, labor and transgender bathrooms
Concerns over the Trump administration’s measures greatly expanding the potential number of deportations were not the only ones evoking strong emotions here last week, but they were the only ones earning Gov. Dannel Malloy a rebuke from the White House.
Posted inEducation
Federal higher-ed tax breaks now exceed cost of grants for lower-income students
The cost of tax deductions that previous research has shown disproportionately help wealthier families pay for college continues to outpace what the federal government spends on grants for low-income students, a new study points out.
Posted inEducation
DeVos, reportedly opposed to rolling back transgender protections, defends the changes
If Education Secretary Betsy DeVos opposed rolling back protections for transgender students behind the scenes, she wasn’t letting it show last week when she spoke to many of the country’s staunchest conservatives.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Niko, Chris, Orson, Diana, yikes! Please don’t name winter storms!
Connecticut was dealt a double-blow by winter storms Chris and Diana earlier this month. Or was it winter storms Niko and Orson? Or just Thursday and Sunday’s winter storms? The answer depends on which TV station you’re watching. Not only is that confusing, but it can also be dangerous.
Posted inPolitics
Electoral College in the crosshairs
Advocates of using the popular vote to decide presidential elections are pushing bills that would have Connecticut join a “compact” of states agreeing to cast all their electoral votes for the winner of the popular vote.
Posted inEducation, Money
A glimpse into the philosophical divide over school funding
A recent exchange between the governor’s budget chief and the co-chair of the legislature’s Education Committee was telling.
Posted inPolitics
Spicer: Malloy ignores the law with his immigration policy
WASHINGTON – White House press secretary Sean Spicer took aim at Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Thursday, saying the governor “chooses not to follow the duly-passed laws of this nation” in telling the state’s police forces they don’t have to cooperate with the Trump administration’s new push to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants. Malloy’s spokeperson shot back that, “‘Mr. Spicer and the administration would benefit from a Civics 101 refresher.”
Posted inJustice
Malloy’s bail reform push makes for strange bedfellows
EAST LYME — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stepped to a microphone in a prison waiting room to talk about bail reform Thursday. He glanced to at two unlikely allies, David McGuire of the American Civil Liberties Union and Suzanne Bates of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Murphy presses for federal probe of ‘sober homes’ after overdose deaths
WASHINGTON — A rash of overdoses in “sober homes” in Connecticut and other states has prompted Sen. Chris Murphy and a bipartisan group of his colleagues to ask federal investigators to determine if additional oversight is needed of these residences for people recovering from substance abuse.
Posted inJustice
Malloy rebukes Trump on rollback of transgender protections
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order Thursday reassuring transgender students of the protections afforded them under state law, his second action in as many days to limit the reach in Connecticut of policies enacted by the administration of President Trump. The action comes as Malloy departs for meetings in Washington, including a social for governors with the president and first lady.
Posted inCities & Towns, Money, Politics
Tribes renew pitch for third casino, say they’ll name site in days
Updated at 2:45 p.m.
The tribes running the state’s two casinos will announce within days where in north-central Connecticut they want to build a satellite gaming facility, casino leaders announced Thursday.
Posted inMoney
Norwegian discount airline to fly from Bradley to Edinburgh
Norwegian, a discount airline, announced Thursday it is establishing limited transatlantic service from Bradley International Airport to Scotland as it expands in the Northeast, basing aircraft and crews at T.F. Green Airport in Providence and Stewart International Airport in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Posted inPolitics
Q poll: Trump approval ‘sinking like a rock’ to 38 percent
WASHINGTON — A Quinnipiac poll gave President Donald Trump the lowest approval ratings since he assumed office about a month ago, only 38 percent, but showed Americans still have confidence in his handling of the economy.
Posted inEducation, Money
Teacher pensions: How Connecticut compares
Connecticut’s public school teachers have to wait longer than educators in nearly every other state to qualify for life-long pension payments and are in the middle of the pack for the amount of their salaries they must contribute for the future benefit, according to a recent survey.