Physician groups are warning that seniors could face challenges getting medical care because UnitedHealthcare is cutting doctors from its Medicare Advantage network. The Connecticut State Medical Society said Thursday that UnitedHealthcare had sent thousands of letters to doctors in the state saying they had been “terminated without cause” from the insurer’s Medicare Advantage network, effective Feb. 1.
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage network changes roil physician groups
Posted inHealth
Doctor lists not easy to find for all Obamacare exchange plans
Connecticut’s health insurance exchange had a smoother first week than many of its counterparts across the country trying to enroll potential customers in health plans. But Connecticut shoppers trying to find which doctors and hospitals are covered by the health plans sold on the state’s exchange are getting uneven results.
Posted inNews
Bonnie Foreshaw granted clemency after 27 years in prison
See correction at bottom of story Niantic – Bonnie Jean Foreshaw, who was convicted of murder when Ronald Reagan was president, was granted clemency today by the state Board of Paroles. Her release date is Nov. 15. She had been convicted of the fatal shooting of Joyce Amos, who was pregnant at the time, near a […]
Posted inNews
CT Mirror Tour begins tonight in Westport
Over the last decade, more businesses have taken notice of environmentally friendly options, but can this be a growth sector for Fairfield County and Connecticut? Please join the Connecticut Mirror, the state’s award-winning public policy news organization, and its partners — the Tremaine Foundation and the Fairfield County Community Foundation — in this lively discussion with lawmakers, environmentalists, engineers […]
Posted inNews
Federal monitor: DCF ‘staffing levels are inadequate’
The state agency responsible for caring for thousands of abused and neglected children would finally be on the right path to ending 20 years of federal court oversight if not for its “inadequate” staffing levels, the court monitor overseeing the agency reports. Because there are too few social workers and every case they receive now […]
Posted inNews
Federal shutdown could force tough choices on CT
Washington – As the budget crisis in Washington shows no sign of a quick resolution, a slew of health and social programs have either lost all federal money or are running out funds. The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has kept these programs running by using leftover federal funds or paying for them out […]
Posted inNews
‘What we have…is failure to communicate’
Sen. Joseph Markley, R-Southington, filed a freedom of information complaint Wednesday over the failure by the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to give him data about the Risk Reduction Earned Credit program. Michael P. Lawlor, the governor’s chief criminal justice adviser, said Markley requested a document that does not exist: a list of inmates […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A rebuttal to ‘The true cost of wind power’
The opinion piece in the Ct Mirror by Marc Brown, formerly with the Koch brothers-funded Freedom Works and now the head of an anti-clean energy group that refuses to disclose its funding sources, relies heavily on debunked fossil fuel industry propaganda in its attacks on wind energy.
Posted inNews
A rebuttal to ‘The true cost of wind power’
The opinion piece in the Ct Mirror by Marc Brown, formerly with the Koch brothers-funded Freedom Works and now the head of an anti-clean energy group that refuses to disclose its funding sources, relies heavily on debunked fossil fuel industry propaganda in its attacks on wind energy.
Posted inEducation
Panic at Head Start in Bridgeport, then a possible reprieve — from the private sector
Bridgeport — Closed because of the federal government shutdown, Head Start centers in six states, including Connecticut, are being offered a bailout by a retired Texas hedge fund manager. Philanthropists Laura and John Arnold Monday have offered an interest-free $10 million loan to temporarily reopen the programs in all six states. John Arnold was a hedge fund […]
Posted inNews
Three Connecticut firms listed as among world’s most innovative
Three Connecticut Companies — United Technologies, General Electric and Xerox — are among those dubbed the 100 most innovative in the world. Read the full story at WNPR News.
Posted inNews
SCOTUS challenge to contribution limits provokes anger in Hartford, but no plan
As the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on a challenge to a long-standing restriction on campaign contributions, a small knot of protesters stood outside a federal courthouse in Hartford, decrying big money in politics. Fran Goldstein, a Common Cause member who drove to the courthouse on a 106-mile round trip from Weston, agreed […]
Posted inHealth
Nearly a third of initial Access Health applicants are under 35, CEO says
Nearly a third of the initial applicants to Access Health CT, the state’s new health insurance marketplace, are under 35, CEO Kevin Counihan said Tuesday. And of all the applicants, most have selected the so-called silver or gold plans, which have higher premiums and cover a larger share of medical costs than the lower-cost bronze plan options.
Posted inPolitics
Shutdown delays Danbury prison transfers
WTNH-TV has published an Associated Press report that the federal government’s partial shutdown has delayed the transfer of female inmates from the Danbury federal prison. The AP apparently got the news from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.
Posted inNews
United Technologies cancels plans to furlough workers
Washington – Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s surprise decision to put about 350,000 Department of Defense civilian workers on the job has prompted Sikorsky Aircraft to scrap plans to furlough nearly 2,000 workers on Monday. Late Sunday, Pratt & Whitney also announced it had abandoned plans to lay off thousands of workers next week. Hagel […]