Mednotes
Connecticut Health Care News
Health officials share concerns over religious exemption to vaccines
Connecticut health officials who gathered in Bridgeport Wednesday to declare their support for vaccines said they are increasingly concerned about the state’s religious exemption, with some calling for lawmakers to erase the provision next year. “The top resolution...
State launches investigation of e-cigarette manufacturer, questions health claims
Connecticut will launch an investigation into the marketing practices of e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs, state officials announced Wednesday. The company behind the popular vaping product has come under fire in recent months for marketing schemes that heavily...
Prescription Opioids Targeted Connecticut’s Most Vulnerable Citizens
In 2018, Dean and Paula Palozej found their son, Spencer, on the floor of his home in Manchester. Spencer was one day shy of his 30th birthday and he was dead of a fentanyl overdose. Spencer, who worked as a landscaper, started taking oxycodone for pain after two...
The long road to lower drug prices hits some potholes
When Washington returned from its winter holiday break in January, it seemed everyone was talking about lowering drug prices. Energized by a new class of freshmen and a few weeks away from the office, members of Congress were ready to wag their fingers at drug company...
Families Celebrate Bill Reclassifying Fentanyl as a Narcotic
HARTFORD, CT — A trio of families who lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses gathered Wednesday in Gov. Ned Lamont’s office to watch him sign legislation that reclassifies the drug as a narcotic. It was a ceremonial bill signing. Lamont signed the bill into law on June...
US drug overdose deaths fell slightly in 2018
(CNN)Drug overdose deaths in the United States declined 5.1% in 2018, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The slight decline in drug overdose deaths marked the...
Expanded insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings lauded by officials, advocates
Gathered to celebrate the passage of the bill Wednesday were a group of lawmakers, advocates, and medical professionals. Included in the group, starting fifth from the left, were House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby; Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven; Rep....
Anthem, ConnectiCare Propose Rate Increases for 2020
HARTFORD, CT — Ten health insurance companies, including two offering health insurance plans both on and off the exchange, proposed an average 7.8% increase in rates for 2020. Anthem Health Plans, Inc., which is one of the two companies competing for business on the...
White House yanks drug ‘rebate’ plan to ease costs for some
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is withdrawing a plan to ease the financial bite of costly medications for people on Medicare by letting them to receive rebates that drug makers now pay to insurers and middlemen, the White House said Thursday. The once-highly...
Dems aim to turn legal attack on the ACA into a political weapon. Connecticut Republicans counter, saying ACA is flawed
Washington – As a federal appeals court in New Orleans considered a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday, Democrats here tried to make the GOP politically vulnerable for its efforts to abolish the health care law. Democrats’ political embrace of the...