uninsured
Uninsured up 17,000 in CT last year
The new Census figures on health insurance released today show that CT’s uninsured rate was up to 10% last year. 343,000 state residents were without insurance, including 44,000 children. The really stunning finding is that private employer-based coverage was down by 107,000. Thankfully government coverage picked up more people, about evenly split between Medicaid and…
Read MoreDoes expanding health insurance improve health?
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal addresses a question that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Health reform debates too often miss the real point – we want to improve the health of people. A plastic health insurance card does not guarantee access to care, much less improved health – ask anyone on Medicaid/HUSKY/Charter…
Read MoreHospital community benefits reports out
The Office of Health Care Advocate has released their community benefits report on what hospitals are providing to residents of their communities to improve health, not just the health of their patients. Under state statute, uncompensated care does not qualify as a community benefit. The data is self-reported and there are very likely differences in…
Read MoreCharter Oak celebrates first anniversary
Friday, Governor Rell announced that her Charter Oak Health Plan has enrolled 10,257 previously uninsured CT residents as of the program’s first anniversary. The program is an affordable option for many people and is providing care to thousands. An important advantage of Charter Oak is that no one is denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions,…
Read MoreFrom the consumer helpline
A consumer called our helpline about a large bill with Hartford Hospital. Her bill for two hospital stays is about $270,000 and she is uninsured. Her income of about $49,000 doesn’t make her rich but it is over the limit for any of the hospital financial assistance programs. She was making payments on one of…
Read MoreCT uninsured hospitalizations report
In fiscal year 2008, there were 12,314 hospitalizations in CT for patients with no third party payer (government or insurance plan), down from 13, 241 in 2007 and 12,988 in 2006, according to a new report by the Office of Health Care Access. However ER visits by the uninsured rose by 2.3% from 2006 to…
Read MoreFrom the Consumer Helpline
I am working with a consumer who called our helpline to ask for help with medical debt from two hospitals. When he was in Bristol Hospital he applied for financial assistance but he was denied because he didn’t want the Department of Social Services (DSS) to put a lien on his house. It is a…
Read MoreNew from Health Affairs –6.9 million more uninsured Americans by 2010, MA reform benefits continue, and cost does not equal quality in health care
Study predicts US uninsured to grow to 52 million by the end of next year A study published today predicts that due to rising health care costs, by the end of 2010 another 6.9 million Americans will be uninsured, bringing the rate to 19.2%. For every 1% increase in health costs relative to income, another…
Read MoreWSJ blog highlights uninsured people forming small businesses to get health insurance
The Wall Street Journal reports today on a little-known option for coverage – forming a business and buying group coverage, even for groups as small as one person. Luckily CT is one of the states that allows small group coverage for groups of one and requires insurers to offer coverage to all small groups (guaranteed…
Read MoreHalf of foreclosures due to sickness and medical bills
In a legislative meeting Friday I heard an amazing statistic from a realtor – that half of foreclosures are due to medical bills. This doesn’t surprise me, many of our clients have health problems that threaten their ability to pay the mortgage. Previous studies have found that half of bankruptcies are due to high medical…
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