Jim Wadleigh, the top information technology official at Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, will lead the agency on an interim basis after chief executive Kevin Counihan leaves for a top federal job next week.
Access Health CT
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Access Health’s Counihan to run federal Obamacare marketplace
[Updated: 2:10 p.m.]
Kevin Counihan is resigning as the chief executive of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange to lead the once-troubled federal Obamacare marketplace. State officials announced a national search for a successor.
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Future of Obamacare enrollment assistance still being determined
Officials say the in-person assistance program that helped thousands of state residents sign up for health care coverage last fall and winter will be back this fall for the next round of Obamacare enrollment. But it’s not clear where the money for it will come from, and some assisters worry because there’s been no public plan for it so far.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Fact check: What impact did Obamacare have on CT’s uninsured rate?
The number of uninsured in Connecticut likely dropped significantly after the major pieces of Obamacare took effect. But though officials say otherwise, the data aren’t yet available to say with confidence how much it dropped.
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CT’s individual insurance market grew 55 percent under Obamacare
Data from the Connecticut Insurance Department show that more than half the people who bought their own health insurance last year have maintained their old policies. But more than 50,000 of them won’t be able to keep their health plans beyond this year, potentially setting up a repeat of last fall’s turmoil and frustration among people whose policies were discontinued.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy celebrates drop in uninsured, credits Obamacare
The percentage of Connecticut residents without health coverage has dropped by half since 2012, prior to implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a survey by the state’s health exchange and a Gallup poll that found the state with one of the nation’s 10 largest reductions.
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Obamacare’s big day in court means little for CT
Two federal courts issued conflicting rulings regarding Obamacare Tuesday, but their decisions aren’t expected to directly affect Connecticut residents.
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Access Health CT finds glitch behind cancellations
When officials at Connecticut’s health insurance exchange learned about customers having problems with their coverage in May, they thought they were isolated cases. But now the exchange has discovered a programming flaw behind coverage problems affecting thousands of people.
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Federal auditors question Access Health CT’s internal controls
Federal auditors reported Tuesday that they found deficiencies in the internal controls used by the health insurance exchanges run by Connecticut, California and the federal government. The problems could have limited the marketplaces’ ability to prevent people from using inaccurate or fraudulent information when applying for Obamacare coverage.
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Anthem links rate hike proposal to Hepatitis C drugs, state law
Updated 1:50 p.m. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield officials said Friday that the company needs to raise rates on its individual-market policies by an average of 12.5 percent to account for rising pharmaceutical costs, particularly costly new Hepatitis C drugs. Customers, meanwhile, blasted the company for proposing to raise prices on coverage they say is already unaffordable.
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Obamacare glitch leading to canceled policies, some say
Republican leaders say constituents have had their policies canceled because of problems with the state’s Obamacare exchange. Their claim isn’t entirely accurate, but people involved in insurance administration say problems are causing some people to lose coverage.
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IRS, Hartford police conducting criminal investigation on Access Health data breach
The Internal Revenue Service and Hartford police are conducting a criminal investigation of the data breach involving information on clients of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange. But an exchange official said Thursday that the cause was most likely a mistake by a call center worker.
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Insurance Department schedules hearing on Anthem’s proposed rate hikes
The Connecticut Insurance Department is holding a public hearing on the proposal by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to raise premiums for its health plans starting Jan. 1, 2015.
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Backpack with Access Health data taken to House GOP office
The backpack containing personal information of clients of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange was left outside a Hartford deli where a worker from the exchange’s call center sat while waiting for a ride Thursday afternoon. The man who found it called the office of his state representative and later brought the backpack to the House GOP office.