UnitedHealthcare sparked an intense backlash last fall when it notified more than 2,000 Connecticut doctors that they would be dropped from its Medicare Advantage network. Many people in health care believe that what UnitedHealthcare is trying to do — cover fewer doctors and other health care providers — is likely to become increasingly common in Connecticut. And to some doctors, the fight against UnitedHealthcare’s network changes is in part about pushing back against the larger trend.
In UnitedHealthcare doctor cuts, some see larger trend
Posted inMoney, Politics
Obama to talk of end run around Congress in address
Washington – President Obama’s state of the union speech Tuesday evening will focus on economic fairness for the middle class and the long-term unemployed and a defense of the Affordable Care Act, a senior administration official said.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT awaits Obama’s take on familiar topic: inequality
President Obama’s expected call tonight in his State of the Union address for the nation to confront economic inequality should have a special resonance in Connecticut, a state dotted with pockets of extreme wealth, deep poverty and the nation’s worst gap in education achievement.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Was faulty CT tax mailing a huge privacy violation?
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero, R-Norwalk Could 27,000 Connecticut residents’ Social Security numbers have been mailed – along with their names and addresses – to households other than their own? A top Republican lawmaker demanded answers Monday after reviewing one of the thousands of faulty tax forms the state Labor Department acknowledged sending out […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Long-term unemployment a priority for Malloy
On a day when the state posted disappointing jobs numbers, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he intends to ask the General Assembly next month to fund a successful private-sector program for the long-term unemployed and to ban help-wanted ads that discriminate against the jobless.
Posted inGovernment, Politics
Q&A: Open data portal
Connecticut plans to launch its open data portal in about a month. Several residents, from data scientists to elected representatives, have different perspectives on what the portal means. So we reached out to a few of them.
Posted inMoney
December job losses in CT erase November gains
Connecticut’s unemployment rate continues to drop – but so does the number of residents still looking for work.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
CT towns want share of state tax revenues
Connecticut’s cities and towns hope to reclaim their share of state sales tax revenues when the 2014 General Assembly session convenes next week.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Esty’s ‘nuanced’ votes on Obamacare rile liberals and GOP
Washington – As a Democrat, the freshman is under pressure from her party to support President Obama’s signature law. But as a Democrat representing Connecticut’s 5th District, which has a history of supporting Republicans, Esty is also pressed to distance herself from some of the more unpopular aspects of the law.
Posted inEducation
Our new website, and a clarification
A weekly report on stories and other content from The Connecticut Mirror.
Posted inEducation
Report: Fewer families get help from state for day care
The number of families the state helped to cover the cost of preschool or day care decreased by nearly 600 infants and toddlers between fiscal 2012 and 2013, a state child-advocacy group reported Friday. The decrease follows the highly touted initiative approved by state legislators and the governor that funded spots for 1,000 more children […]
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut lawmakers have special guests for State of the Union address
In keeping with President Obama’s theme of inequality in the United States for his State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday, some Connecticut lawmakers have invited special guests.
Posted inHealth
St. Francis: Patient information stolen from vehicle
St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center announced Friday that it notified 858 patients of a privacy breach that occurred after paper records were stolen from an emergency department doctor’s vehicle last month.
Posted inEducation
State: Bridgeport “systemically violated” special education laws
State investigators have concluded that the state’s largest public school system “systemically violated” state laws created to ensure students with special education needs are promptly identified and provided services.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy proposes mental health funding boost, police training
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing to fund more supportive housing and other services for people with mental illness, boosting annual mental health spending by $4.25 million in the next fiscal year and by another $3 million the year after.