Twenty-five people are on the waiting list for services under a state-run program for people with acquired brain injuries that has 13 open slots, and advocates say the state is violating the terms of the program by not filling them. State officials dispute that, and say they lack the funding and staff to fill the program.
Department of Social Services
Posted inHealth
Social Services Commissioner Bremby doesn’t get Kansas job
Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby won’t be leaving Connecticut for a post in Kansas. Although Bremby was a finalist to become city manager of Lawrence, Kan., the city commission selected another candidate Thursday.
Posted inHealth
DSS Commissioner Bremby a finalist for Kansas post
State Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby is one of three finalists to become city manager of Lawrence, Kansas, where he once served as assistant city manager.
Posted inHealth
Thousands of Obamacare customers at risk of losing coverage or subsidies
More than 7,000 customers of Connecticut’s health insurance exchange must provide additional documentation to maintain their coverage or the tax credits that subsidize their premiums – a process that has already led to confusion and, in some cases, lost coverage or subsidies, exchange CEO Jim Wadleigh said Tuesday.
Posted inHealth
Feds say state should give back up to $24 million in Medicaid money
In response, the state Department of Social Services agreed to repay $957,943 to the federal government. But the agency said it does not believe that it should refund the other $23 million.
Posted inHealth
Still on hold: A solution for long DSS call-wait times
It took an average of 54 minutes for callers to reach a Department of Social Services worker by phone last month. That’s an improvement over February’s 70-minute average, and one of the lower average monthly wait times in the past year. But client advocates say it’s long past time things be improved in the phone system, which launched in July 2013 as part of a highly touted “modernization” initiative.
Posted inHealth, Politics
After providers complain, lawmakers consider changes to Medicaid audits
Legislators are considering changes to the way the state audits Medicaid payments to health care providers, who have complained for years that the process penalizes honest errors and can lead to costs dramatically higher than any identified mistakes. One independent pharmacist got involved in pushing for change after an audit of his drug store found $268 worth of problematic prescriptions — and he faced a penalty of $144,814.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Proposed cut in dental reimbursement could jeopardize children’s care
Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget charges the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) with achieving $90 million in savings through a reduction in provider rates. A conservative estimate of the impact of reducing dental fees by 5.6 percent indicates that 24,000 fewer HUSKY-insured young people under 21 years of age would have access to a dental visit in each of the next two fiscal years.
Posted inHealth
Advocates: Medicaid’s autism coverage plan would keep kids from services
Advocates say the state’s proposed regulations for autism treatment coverage contain so many potential barriers that many children would be unlikely to get services, face major delays in treatment or struggle to find a provider who could meet the requirements.
Posted inHealth
DSS said to have continued thousands on Medicaid without ensuring they were still eligible
The state Department of Social Services continued providing Medicaid coverage to thousands of people for more than a year without checking whether they remained eligible, as is federally required, according to a contractor who recently left the department.
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Food stamp backlog could cost Connecticut federal money
Connecticut could lose up to $3.7 million in expected federal funding because of continued problems in handling food stamp cases.
Posted inHealth
DSS phone wait time drops (to 66 minutes)
Nearly two thirds of callers who wanted to speak to a worker at the state Department of Social Services hung up before getting through, but that, too, was an improvement over previous months. In September, 64 percent of callers who wanted to reach a worker hung up first, compared to 71 percent in August and 75 percent in July.
Posted inHealth
Need to reach a DSS worker? Can you hold for 78 minutes?
More than a year after the state Department of Social Services changed its phone system, people who rely on it say it remains unacceptably difficult to reach a worker. Last month, callers looking to speak to a person waited on hold an average of 78 minutes. And 71 percent hung up first.
Posted inHealth
Legislators say DSS hearing rules must change for ‘fundamental fairness’
They’re called fair hearings — the chance people get to appeal decisions made by the state Department of Social Services, such as denials of applications for benefits or being turned down for Medicaid coverage of a certain treatment. But some legislators say the way the department handles the hearings makes them anything but fair.
Posted inHealth
CT Social Services chief withdraws from Fort Worth job search
Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby has withdrawn his name from consideration to become city manager of Fort Worth, Texas, according to local media reports.