Health Insurance in Connecticut
Connecticut residents are looking for worthy health insurance plans that offer significant financial protection at a cost they can afford. Below is useful information.
There is a wide choice of quality health insurance plans for individuals and families from most of the leading health insurance companies in Connecticut like
Aetna, United Health One, Cigna, and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, including Tonik health plans for individuals. The premiums for private medical insurance policies are all standardized and filed with the
Connecticut Insurance Department. This means all agencies must quote the same rates. It is suggested that private insurance holders review their policy rate every 18 months.
Connecticut also provides a high risk pool plan for the individuals and families without health insurance in Connecticut, through the Connecticut Health Reinsurance Association (HRA).
Health Insurance for Connecticut Groups and Small Businesses (2-50 employees); Medical underwriting is authorized in Connecticut. Charges are based on the community rate including age, gender, location, industry, group size, and family composition.
Connecticut offers COBRA, the Consolidate Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Many companies with 20 or more employees that provide health insurance are obligated to offer employees and their dependents continuation coverage for remuneration that were lost owing, for instance, to job loss, decrease in hours worked, death, or divorce.
Medicaid in Connecticut is a state/federal program that pays for medical and long-term care services for low-income pregnant women, children, certain people on Medicare, disabled persons and nursing home residents.
The Husky Plan is intended to assist all children who don’t have health insurance.
Others include; short term health insurance, student health insurance, and dental insurance
Companies for Health Insurance in Connecticut
Do you pay too much for family health insurance? Maybe it's time to Check Connecticut Health Insurance Quotes.
Hospitals in Connecticut
Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport; Danbury Hospital in Danbury; Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich; Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk; St. Vincent Hospital - Bridgeport; Stamford Hospital in Stamford; Bristol Hospital in Bristol; Connecticut Children's Medical Centre, St. Francis Hospital, and Hartford Hospital in Hartford; Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, and Southington; John Dempsey in Farmington; Manchester Hospital in Manchester; Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington; New Milford Hospital in New Milford; Sharon Hospital in Sharon; Middlesex Hospital in Essex, Marlborough, and Middletown; Griffin Hospital in Derby; Mid-state Hospital in Meriden; Milford Hospital in Milford; St. Mary's Hospital, and Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury; St. Raphael's Hospital in New Haven; Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven; Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London; William Backus Hospital in Norwich; Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs; Rockville Hospital in Vernon; Windham Hospital in Willimantic; Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam.
Medicaid, poverty and food stamps rates on the rise in Bucks County
Some analysts say the worst of the recession is over, news that would be welcomed in the wake of a recent U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, which shows Bucks County households receiving food stamps has increased 42.6 percent over the last two years.
Bucks County experienced the largest increase in southeastern Pennsylvania, but it was not alone. Montgomery (41.1 percent), Chester (33.4), Delaware (24.6) and Philadelphia (21.3) counties also experienced increases as numbers rose 25 percent statewide.
Bucks County also experienced the largest jump in southeastern Pennsylvania ' 25.4 percent ' for enrollment in Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Kathy Fisher, Family Economic Security Associate for Public Citizens for Children and Youth, says the increase in enrollment in food stamps and CHIP, as well as unemployment insurance and extensions show how fragile our safety net is responding as designed in a bad economy.
"But with job state losses more severe in 2009 than in 2008, the exhaustion of unemployment benefits and families eating through their meager, if any, savings, the impact on children will likely be seen in next year's poverty numbers," said Fisher. "It is more important than ever for government programs to be strengthened and not further cut so that families have access to basic supports, as many will face a long, hard climb to recover financially."
Pennsylvania's poverty rate rose from 1,393,026 persons (11.6 percent) in 2007 to 1,458,394 (12.1 percent) in 2008, according to the survey.
Of 2,705,359 Pennsylvania children, 444,647 (16.4 percent) are living in poverty, up from 433,643 (15.9 percent) in 2007. In 2008, the census defined the poverty line for a family of two adults and two children at $21,200; for a family of two adults and one child, it was $17,600.
For southeastern Pennsylvania child poverty rates rose in Bucks (1.1 percent), Chester (0.9 percent) and Montgomery (1.5 percent) counties, while dropping in Delaware (-0.5 percent) and Philadelphia (-3.3 percent) counties.
In addition to the increase in poverty levels, the percentages of citizens using state or county funded Medicaid has nearly doubled in 2009. According to Bernard McBride, director of Bucks County Behavioral Health System, approximately 6 percent of people in Pennsylvania took advantage of state or county funded health care, but that number is now more than 10 percent.
'Those are people who don't have medical care eligibility,' said McBride. 'I can't look at the number and say exactly why that is, but I can guess that people are either losing their jobs along with their benefits, or were paying for it themselves, but can no longer afford to anymore.'
