uninsured
Waterbury uninsured have a place to get care
Yesterday’s CT Mirror highlights Waterbury Project Access, a free health clinic program providing care to uninsured patients in the area. Because of the program Dennis Hayes, a truck driver with no coverage and $50,000 in medical bills from a heart attack, doesn’t have to ration his medications or doctor visits – keeping him working and…
Read MoreNY hospital takes artwork in exchange for care
28% of NY artists are uninsured. To meet the needs of their community – both artists and patients — Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn gives 40 credits toward health care services for every hour artists share with the hospital. Artists in Woodhull’s Artist Access Program take professional first photos of newborns and moms, provide storytelling…
Read MoreCT uninsured rates vary significantly by geography, income, race/ethnicity and citizenship
New numbers from the Census find that last year minorities in CT were more likely to be uninsured, but not being a citizen raised your risk by more than four fold. CT residents with household incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 were most likely to be without coverage. Fairfield County led the state with 11% uninsured;…
Read MoreCT uninsured rate up to 12%
The Census is reporting that CT’s uninsured rate rose from 10% in 2008 to 12% in 2009, an increase of 43,000 residents without coverage. Employer sponsored coverage levels held steady despite rising unemployment, possibly because of generous federal COBRA subsidies. While Medicaid numbers dropped during the study period, HUSKY enrollment grew and has grown faster…
Read MoreMeet Nelson Mendoza
Nelson Mendoza is a 19 year old from Houston Texas who just finished his freshman year at Yale. Nelson was one of our health policy fellows this last year. He is currently in India helping an NGO that brings vision care to rural areas of the country. He gave me permission to share his story.…
Read MoreReport finds one in five CT residents have pre-existing conditions and risk of insurance denial
A new report by Families USA finds that 593,000 CT residents have been diagnosed with one or more condition that could result in denial of insurance coverage. In September, under the new national health reform act, insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to the 44,200 CT children with pre-existing conditions, but the other half…
Read More$50 million health coverage opportunity for CT from national health reform
CT can access $50 million in federal funds to cover state residents with pre-existing conditions until 2014 when insurers will no longer be able to exclude adults from coverage because they have health problems. Under the law, insurers are prohibited from excluding children with pre-existing conditions from coverage this year. Since 1975, CT has had…
Read MoreRising uninsured in CT falls hardest on middle income families; How national health reform would help
A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that between 1999/2000 and 2007/2008 the rise in the number of uninsured CT residents was concentrated among people living in households between two and four times the poverty level (now between $36,620 and 73,240/year for a family of three). The number of CT residents with…
Read MoreThousands line up for free dental care
People began lining up outside this year’s Mission of Mercy clinic at 3am Friday morning. The CT Dental Association sponsors the clinics annually to provide free dental care to CT residents in need. This year’s clinic ran Friday and Saturday in Middletown but could only care for 1,000 patients each day. Almost 1,700 people, clinicians…
Read MoreFrom the helpline
An uninsured consumer called our office looking for help paying bills to two hospitals. He had been placed into collections but he had received no information about financial assistance. He made $17,000 last year; not wealthy by any means but ineligible for SAGA. He has no children, so doesn’t qualify for HUSKY. I called Milford…
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