uninsured
Meet 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…
Read MoreA fresh perspective
At the beginning of February the National Association of Free Clinics ran a free clinic in Hartford, and for the entire afternoon, the sense of good will and community was a pleasure to be a part of. I had the opportunity to be a Spanish translator, and although the demand for translators had tapered off…
Read MoreFree Dental Clinic March 12 and 13
The CT State Dental Association will be sponsoring a Mission of Mercy free dental clinic again this year on March 12th and 13th at the Aetna Building on Industrial Park Rd. in Middletown. The clinic will start at 8am each day. There are no eligibility or income requirements; both children and adults are welcome. Patients…
Read MoreNew Britain dentists providing children with free care this Friday
The New Britain Herald is reporting on several New Britain dental offices opening their offices this Friday to children who cannot afford care including screenings, cleanings and fillings. The “Give Kids a Smile” program was started by the American Dental Association in 2003 as part of National Children’s Dental Health Month. For information on participating…
Read MoreFree clinic makes a difference
Yesterday’s massive free health clinic at the CT Convention Center in Hartford had provided care to 700 uninsured people in just the first three hours. Almost 1,100 people signed up to volunteer. The clinic was run by the National Association of Free Clinics; CT has over a dozen free clinics providing care to the uninsured.…
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