uninsured
CTNJ: CT’s uninsured rate is down and stable, so who’s still uninsured?
According to the latest numbers from the US Census, 187,000 Connecticut residents or one in twenty of us, were uninsured last year. That’s both good and bad news. Read more
Read MoreConnecticut’s uninsured rate stabilizes, retaining ACA gains
Download the report New numbers from the US Census Bureau report that 187,000 or 5.3% of Connecticut residents were uninsured last year. That number is down slightly from the year before when the uninsured rate was 5.5%, but above 2016’s rate at 4.9%. The new data continues the trend of fewer uninsured that began with…
Read MoreCTNJ: A recession is coming and it could hit Connecticut healthcare hard
While President Trump disagrees, a recent survey found that three in four economists expect the US economy to enter a recession by 2021. Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle – it’s not a question of whether it will happen, but when. The last recession, in 2008, hit Connecticut especially hard, and in…
Read MoreState approves controversial New Haven primary care move
Friday, the state Office of Health Strategy gave final approval Yale-New Haven’s application to move primary care for over 25,000 low income consumers out of neighborhoods and shift them to the Cornell Scott and Fairhaven health centers for payment purposes. Under the final agreement patients would still be cared for by the same YNHH primary…
Read MoreJoin us: CT affordable housing conference features health/housing connection
Join us at Housing 2019, the 30th annual CT conference on affordable housing, to hear about collaborations in CT between housing and community health programs that are improving both. The conference is sponsored by the Affordable Housing Alliance of CT (formerly the CT Housing Coalition). At “Health and Housing: Learning from Each Other”, attendees will…
Read MoreProposed federal rule would require hospitals to post negotiated rates
A new proposed federal regulation (called a “rule”) would allow consumers to compare negotiated service prices by hospital and by payer. These would be the real prices paid by insurers, both hospital and payer-specific prices, as well as gross prices. This information could be extremely helpful for consumers without insurance and those with high deductibles…
Read MoreCoincidence? CT spends little on primary care, and we have high ED, preventable hospitalization rates
A new analysis finds that Connecticut, at only 3.5% of our health care dollars spent on primary care, is last among 29 states studied. Not surprisingly, we also rank among the highest in ED visits, all hospitalizations, and in avoidable hospitalizations. The US average is 5.6% of health care spending devoted to primary care, well…
Read MoreComments needed on federal proposal to erode medical debtors’ rights
The National Consumer Law Center is asking people who care to submit public comments on the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed debt collection rule. Medical bills are the biggest cause of bankruptcy and the top reason for contact by collections. Unfortunately, that burden falls very heavily on Connecticut residents. Health insurance premiums for both…
Read MoreCT homelessness continues to drop but health challenges are serious
This year’s point-in-time count of homelessness in Connecticut finds the numbers are going down – that’s the very good news. This year the CT Coalition to End Homelessness found that on January 22nd, when volunteers fanned out across the state to count the homeless, the number was 3,033. That’s the lowest number since the survey…
Read MorePublic option gone but good pieces remain
Negotiations over a public health insurance option in CT have broken down but other good parts of the deal remain. Reportedly, there is a budget agreement to restore HUSKY eligibility for some of the 11,000 working parents cut in 2016. DSS reports found that the large majority of the low-income parents cut from HUSKY were…
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