Archive for April 2009
2009 CT Health Disparities report
The Department of Public Health in cooperation with the CT Health Foundation recently released their 2009 Connecticut Health Disparities Report. The report defines health disparities as “avoidable differences in health that result from cumulative social disadvantage.” Connecticut is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse; from 2000-2007, there were significant increases in the populations of Asians,…
Read MoreForum for consumers and advocates: eHealth Privacy and Security
The CT Health Policy Project and AARP-CT are hosting a forum on electronic medical records and how to ensure patient’s privacy and security are protected. Electronic medical records and sharing them is an important part of improving the quality of care, reducing costs, and reforming our health care system. Planning is beginning at the state…
Read MoreForum on overweight and obesity
May 5th the Universal Health Care Foundation of CT and the CT Public Health Policy Institute will hold a forum to present a new analysis of the overweight and obesity problem in CT, including background, costs and consequences, and possible future interventions. The forum will be in May at the University of Hartford. For more…
Read MoreHear a brain scientist describe her stroke
Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained brain scientist, wrote a book describing her experience of surviving a stroke. For a very entertaining video of the author relating the morning she woke up to find that a blood vessel had burst in her brain click here and scroll down. She describes, with great humor, how she processed…
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…
Read MoreApprops budget health impact analysis
Our summary of health coverage related items in the Appropriations budget is posted. The legislature restored the large majority of Governor Rell’s proposed cuts including rejecting premiums and copays for Medicaid, cuts in services to SAGA, restored coverage for immigrants and medical interpretation.
Read MoreLousy student health insurance – An update
Aetna Student Health finally returned my call about the $500 in medical bills they haven’t paid. Now I’m getting a completely different answer (I think I’ve been given about four different explanations so far). The most recent customer service representative said that I met the maximum benefit level for this medical service. I explained that…
Read MoreAppropriations passes a budget
The budget approved by the Appropriations Committee restores many of Governor Rell’s proposed cuts to health care programs. The committee did not agree to the Governor’s proposed co-pays and premiums on HUSKY families; imposition of premiums would jeopardize significant federal stimulus funding. Also to ensure CT gets new federal funding, the committee rejected the Governor’s…
Read MoreHUSKY waiver hearing – good and bad news on PCCM
As expected, yesterday’s Medicaid waiver hearing before the Human Services and Appropriations Committees was contentious and long. DSS brought out the troops – I counted nineteen staff in the room and they flew in two actuaries from Mercer. CMS also came in from Boston. DSS began with a rosy, but incomplete, description of the program…
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