The top Republican in the state Senate charged Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state employee unions Friday with making an end run around the legislature to resolve a disability pension controversy that the state auditors said may have cost Connecticut millions of dollars in improper payments.
GOP Senate leader: Malloy, unions ducked legislature on pensions
Posted inEducation
Complaint says Bridgeport’s special education problems persist
Nineteen months after state investigators determined that the state’s largest school district “systemically violated” state and federal laws created to ensure the needs of special education students are promptly met, the attorneys for eight Bridgeport students complained to the state that the problems fester.
Posted inHealth
In insurance, premium isn’t the full price. Can a tool help shoppers?
Many people shopping for health plans look for the lowest monthly cost. But experts say that’s not necessarily the best buy. Connecticut’s insurance exchange is trying to reinforce that with a tool to help customers get a fuller picture of their potential costs.
Posted inPolitics
Congress seeks to override Connecticut’s GMO-labeling law
WASHINGTON – In the spring of 2013, Tara Cook-Littman was on the front lines of the struggle to pass a Connecticut law requiring the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms. But Congress is moving to take back the ground food labeling advocates like Cook-Littman have won.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Happy birthday, Medicaid, and CT’s HUSKY
Happy birthday, Medicaid! Our kids and our state have a lot to celebrate: a state-federal health coverage program that helps needy youngsters, promotes familial economic stability, and reduces industry costs. As citizens, we can all celebrate 50 years of a program that binds us together, channels our shared civic responsibility, and invests in our state’s most valuable and precious resource, our children.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT a leader in Medicaid dental care, but room for improvement
Medicaid’s mandated Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment provision, along with proven innovations in adult programs in forward-looking states like Connecticut, have proven that we can put good oral health within reach of the most vulnerable. The state of dental care in Medicaid is far from perfect, but it has worked for millions and can work for millions more. We should celebrate the program on its 50th birthday and commit to doubling down on dental care.
Posted inMoney, Politics
State, unions agree on more lenient disability-pension standard
A new agreement that restores a more lenient standard for awarding state disability pensions will take effect immediately and won’t be presented to the General Assembly for consideration in 2016, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration confirmed Thursday.
Posted inNews
Coming to a school near you: Ratings from 1 to 5
NEW HAVEN — Every public school in Connecticut will be rated 1 through 5 this winter, and every high school junior will be required to take the SAT test rather than the Smarter Balanced Assessment, a controversial exam aligned to the Common Core State Standards, it was announced Thursday.
Posted inEducation, Health
Most middle and high schools start too early, CDC study says
In Connecticut, fewer than 5 percent of middle and high schools started at 8:30 or later, one of the lowest rates in the country.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
NARAL attack on CT pregnancy centers unwarranted and wrong
ABC Women’s Center, a non-profit organization in Middletown offering free support services to women facing unplanned pregnancies, has this response to a report released by NARAL Pro Choice CT entitled, “The Right To Lie.” The report is part of a nationwide strategy by abortion advocacy groups to harm the reputation of those charitable entities providing critical pregnancy support services in communities across the state. As part of Care Net, a national pregnancy center affiliation organization, ABC Women’s Center complies with an industry set of standards called ‘The Commitment of Care and Competence’ which ensures that every client is treated with respect and compassion.
Posted inPolitics
Courtney says he supports Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON – Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, on Thursday became the second member of the Connecticut delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives to voice his support for the Iran nuclear pact.
Posted inEducation
A UConn Foundation profile in six graphs
The University of Connecticut spends $7 million each year supporting its foundation; and in return that fundraising arm doles out about $40 million a year. Here are six charts that profile the UConn foundation’s financial performance.
Posted inHealth
Cuts at Windham Hospital prompt worries about access to care
The hospital’s parent company says cuts are needed to keep the hospital open, but critics say the reductions being contemplated could undermine access to care in a part of the state with few hospitals and limited public transportation.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Paid family leave act could help CT economy and prevent foreclosures
As part of my work for the Women’s Economic Agenda for Connecticut Working Families, I spent the legislative session collecting the stories of women who earn, on average, $15,000 per year. Many don’t have any health insurance outside of Title 19 and they have no savings. Lack of paid family leave devastated their lives when they gave birth or underwent surgery. As a result, many have lost all hope that they can ever own a home. But higher income Connecticut residents – homeowners – are affected by the lack of paid family and medical leave as well, perhaps in even more drastic ways and they don’t even know it. Here’s why a state-funded study on the issue is essential.
Posted inNews
Iran nuclear pact is key topic as Esty travels to Israel
WASHINGTON – While President Obama was trying to sell the American public on a deal with Iran aimed at curbing that nation’s nuclear ambitions, Rep. Elizabeth Esty on Wednesday was receiving a very different message in Jerusalem.