An early analysis suggests that the assumptions behind a $15.2 million cut to mental health and substance abuse treatment services in this year’s budget aren’t being realized and could leave some service providers with significantly less funding than lawmakers intended.
Medicaid
Posted inHealth
Feds consider scaling back Medicaid estate recovery
For some adults, getting Medicaid coverage means that when they die, the state could claim some or all of their assets to repay the medical care they received. That’s left some people who qualify for the program under the federal health law wary of joining. And now the federal government, concerned about the effect on enrollment, plans to explore scaling back the practice.
Posted inHealth
CT mental health clinics brace for state cuts tied to Obamacare
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has touted a proposal to increase spending on mental health services, agencies that run mental health and substance abuse clinics are bracing for more than $10 million in cuts to state grants starting July 1. And they say the cut could mean treating fewer people.
Posted inHealth
DSS system woes burden CT’s senior centers, aging agencies
People who work in senior centers, town social service offices and senior housing complexes say the state Department of Social Services’ new system has led to elderly residents losing benefits, low-income clients having to pay out-of-pocket for medication, and more of their own time devoted to trying to fix problems caused by the new system.
Posted inHealth
Access Health website will be limited this weekend
“Substantial portions” of the website of Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, will be unavailable between 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15 and 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 because of system maintenance by federal agencies.
Posted inHealth
Primary care providers accepting Medicaid doubled since 2011
Payment rates to primary care providers who see Medicaid patients rose dramatically in 2013, and so did the number of providers participating in the program.
Posted inHealth, Money
DSS would get more workers under Malloy plan
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget includes 103 new staff positions for the state Department of Social Services, which has faced litigation alleging that it doesn’t have enough workers to process Medicaid applications within the required timeframe.
Posted inHealth, Money
Home care, Medicaid pay, inmate health care in Malloy proposal
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget expands home care programs, creates a new medical assistance program for ex-inmates and provides money to pay primary doctors who treat Medicaid patients. It doesn’t offer any respite to hospitals.
Posted inHealth
Connecticut sees implications in Supreme Court union case
Supporters and opponents of two controversial Connecticut unionization efforts are closely watching a U.S. Supreme Court case that could have implications for the organization of home care and day care workers.
Posted inHealth
Uninsured Connecticut: Obamacare comes to Hartford
In their quest to help people sign up for insurance offered under the federal health law, the staff at Charter Oak Health Center have talked to more than 3,000 people. But a few stand out, like the man who was so happy to have insurance — for $49 a month — he was shouting on the way out. Or the young man with bad eyes who couldn’t afford glasses but would, as of Jan. 1, qualify for Medicaid.
Posted inHealth
Fewer kids losing Medicaid, but those turning 1 or 18 still vulnerable
The number of children and adolescents dropped from the state’s HUSKY health care program fell during a recent two-year period, but those turning 1 and 18 are still especially vulnerable to losing their medical benefits, according to a report released Friday.
Posted inHealth
When getting Medicaid now means repaying the state later
This story has been updated. To read the new part, click here. Thousands of Connecticut residents will become eligible for Medicaid Jan. 1, and for some, the coverage will come with an often-overlooked trade-off: When they die, the state could dock their estates to repay the medical costs it covered. So-called “recovery” of the assets […]
Posted inHealth
Introducing the Obamacare Maitre d’
[iframe frameborder=”0″ height=”1050″ scrolling=”no” src=”https://projects.ctmirror.org/content/2013/11/Obamacare_CYOA/” width=”100%”]
Posted inHealth
Access Health says 13,128 people signed up for Obamacare coverage
As of Thursday, 13,128 people had signed up for coverage through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange.
Posted inHealth
Feds: Fewer than half of Obamacare applicants qualify for subsidies
In the first month of enrollment, just 106,185 people in the U.S. signed up for private insurance plans sold through the exchanges created by the federal health law, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday.