Since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced state income tax receipts were lagging due to weak stock market earnings, much of the Capitol’s focus has been on the relatively small hole it opened in the current budget. But the projected loss of $100 million in tax receipts this year also exacerbates a much bigger budget problem just down the road.
CT staring at another $1B deficit after next state election
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers say Boehner’s resignation cuts shutdown odds, but threat remains
WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to resign may have lessened the prospects of a government shutdown, but that won’t be known for sure until Congress considers a short-term spending bill next week. Meanwhile, Connecticut agencies have been told to draw up contingency plans.
Posted inHealth
Seniors tell medical students what they need from doctors
An annual panel discussion called “Life Over 90,” is aimed at nudging students toward choosing geriatric medicine, the primary care field that focuses on the elderly. It is among the lowest-paid specialties, and geriatricians must contend with complex cases that are time consuming and are often not reimbursed adequately by Medicare or private insurance.
Posted inHealth, Money
Amid questions, commissioner won’t recuse herself from Anthem-Cigna proposal
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade, a former Cigna lobbyist whose husband still works for the company, said she does not intend to recuse herself from considering Anthem’s proposal to buy the Bloomfield insurer — a choice that drew criticism about a potential conflict of interest.
Posted inEducation
43 rapes at UConn reported – more than double last year’s number
Forty-three people reported being raped at the University of Connecticut last school year — more than double the number of reported sexual assaults the previous year.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut’s Washington Week
Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, which included an address to the joint session of Congress, overshadowed everything this week — except perhaps House Speaker John Boehner’s subsequent resignation.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Don’t brand doctors as “inefficient”
Being an “efficient” doctor is not the same as being a good doctor. Following an insurer’s guidelines may save it money and increase its profits but that doesn’t mean that patients necessarily receive better care.
Posted inHealth, Money
Hospital CEO pay: red herring or key in state funding debate?
As hospital leaders warn of potential job cuts and service reductions in response to state funding cuts, the six- and seven-figure pay packages of Connecticut hospital executives have emerged as a point of contention — to some, a red herring to distract from the state’s fiscal policy, while others view it as a way to point out misplaced priorities at nonprofit hospitals at a time when executive pay and income disparities have become a rallying cry in national politics.
Posted inHealth, Politics
USDA tells states to process food stamps again, but no guarantee of benefits
WASHINGTON – In an abrupt change of policy, federal officials have instructed state agencies, including Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, to resume processing food stamp benefits for October. But with a possible shutdown of the federal government looming, that doesn’t assure that anyone will receive them at the beginning of the month.
Posted inPolitics
‘Pope of the people,’ citing history, urges Congress to act
WASHINGTON – Pope Francis sent a message of personal and social responsibility to a joint session of Congress and the nation Thursday, but also gently pressed lawmakers to end their partisan bickering and legislative dysfunction.
Posted inHealth
IOM: Teamwork key to reducing medical diagnostic errors
Almost every American will experience a medical diagnostic error, but the problem has taken a back seat to other patient safety concerns, an influential panel said in a report calling for widespread changes.
Posted inPolitics
Joe Ganim’s first campaign for a second chance
On a jubilant day of door-knocking in the East End of Bridgeport, the closest Joe Ganim came to a sour moment was at the end of Wilmot Avenue, where a woman demanded to know how someone convicted of a crime still can participate in electoral politics.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Budget cuts will hurt Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents
As someone who has testified and written frequently about funding decisions and service modifications and also as someone who is very familiar with health disparities in Connecticut, I believe that the governor’s current budget rescissions are not only evidence of a disconnect between the state’s commitment to ending disparities and inequities in health and health outcomes, but they are also a departure from the state’s early commitment to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inMoney
AG says MGM bluffing in the casino border war
Connecticut’s attorney general’s office asked a federal judge Wednesday to call what it suggests is a cheeky legal bluff by MGM Resorts International to protect the casino MGM is developing across the border in Springfield, Mass.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT defense industry big loser in federal budget stalemate
WASHINGTON – With only days to act remaining, Congress is once again on the brink of a fiscal crisis that will have a special impact on Connecticut’s $13 billion defense industry.