Nine days after health plans sold as part of the federal health law were slated to take effect, some state residents are still struggling to get their coverage set up. Here’s what you need to know about the payment deadlines, what to do if you need an insurance ID card, who to call if you’re having problems, what you can do if you need a prescription filled before you get your insurance information, and the deadlines to know if you’re still shopping for coverage.
Obamacare coverage problems? Here’s what you need to know
Posted inEducation
State seeks to delay education-funding trial until after election
The state is asking that the trial over whether Connecticut is spending enough money on education be pushed back until after the gubernatorial election in the fall. The trial, scheduled to begin July 1, would be delayed 15 months if a Hartford Superior Court judge grants the request by the state attorney general.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy says ‘no doubt’ crime was committed in NJ bridge flap, unsure by whom
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a former prosecutor who has exchanged his share of zingers with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie since taking office, said Thursday he believes that criminal laws were violated when the Christie administration deliberately fouled traffic to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J.
Posted inPolitics
Wash Post says Blumenthal was a ‘hunk’
Washington — Move over Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, who has repeatedly been on The Hill’s “most beautiful list.” The new writers of the Washington Post’s Reliable Sources column have discovered a decades-old photo of Sen. Richard Blumenthal that proves he was (and maybe still is?) a hunk.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy names liaison to ‘community’ that defies easy description
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named Jonathan Slifka as his “cabinet-level” liaison to the disability community Wednesday, acting at the start of a re-election year to improve relations with a demographic group whose broad diversity Slifka matter-of-factly highlighted.
Posted inPolitics
CT GOP field: Boughton’s in, Foley soon
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s official entrance into the 2014 race for governor Wednesday creates a four-man field of Republicans that is about to expand to five with the addition of Tom Foley, the GOP’s 2010 nominee. Once Foley formally declares after months as an exploratory candidate, the field seems set with one possible exception: Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton, who has been raising money since August with an exploratory committee.
Posted inHealth
Amid Obamacare coverage woes, more insurers extend payment deadline
As Connecticut residents continue to face problems getting their new health care coverage set up, two more insurance companies selling plans through the state’s exchange have extended their payment deadlines for January coverage.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal’s Metro-North crusade: Proper (& political?)
Washington — Reports of the resignation of Metro -North President Howard Permut may indicate that Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal has drawn blood in his battle against the commuter railway.
Posted inPolitics
Votes of CT senators rarely deviate from party position
Washington — During Congress’ debate on the farm bill last summer, Orange, Conn.-based Pez and other Connecticut candymakers looked for an opportunity to overhaul the federal sugar program so prices for the sweetener would fall. They lobbied for weeks on Capitol Hill for an amendment to the farm bill that would reform the Department of Agriculture sugar program, which props up U.S. sugar prices.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Cold-caused power grid problems start to level off
Power usage on the New England grid leveled off a bit Wednesday as temperatures began to slowly rise. But prices were still running high – more than $300 a megawatt hour at times – as the Independent System Operator that manages the grid, ISO New England, continued to use more expensive oil- and coal-fired generation.
Posted inPolitics
Seventh defendant in campaign finance scandal gets 6 months in prison
It’s good to be cooperative. Paul Rogers, 41, of Middlebury, one of the smoke shop owners caught up in a conspiracy to bribe a state legislator to keep the roll-your-own business tax free, was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday, a reward for his cooperation wilth federal authorities.
Posted inNews
Eco-friendly New Haven businessman says state ruined him
New Haven — Bruno Suraci, an organic farmer who drives an electric car and recycles the waste from his New Haven painting company, recently got a call from a friend in California. He Googled his name and found it next to a Haz-mat sign—as the Public Enemy Number One of environmental investigators. The news came […]
Posted inHealth
Anthem extends payment deadline for Obamacare customers
With some customers still waiting to receive bills or have their payments processed, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is extending the deadline for customers to pay their first month’s premium to Jan. 15.
Posted inMoney
Economist: Post-election budget deficit threatens CT’s economic gains in 2014
Connecticut’s “tepid recovery” could pick up steam in 2014, buoyed by the national and regional economies that continue to outperform the Nutmeg State’s, a leading economist told the state’s business leaders Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics
Tom D’Amore dies; was strategist to Weicker, Lamont
Thomas J. D’Amore Jr., a puckish political presence in Connecticut for more than 40 years, most notably as a key strategist for Lowell P. Weicker’s successful runs for U.S. Senate and governor, and later for Ned Lamont’s challenge of U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, died Tuesday after an apparent heart attack. He was 72.