Effective January 1, 2008, income guidelines for pregnant women in HUSKY A increased from 185% to 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL). This is $51,625 for a family of four. The change was made as a result of state legislation passed last year.

HUSKY B Newborns - Waiver of Premiums

Effective January 1, 2008, families that enroll uninsured newborns in HUSKY B will not have to pay premiums for the first four months in order to help reduce the number of uninsured babies that leave the hospital. DSS and birthing hospitals are working together to implement this new rule. (Note: HUSKY B is divided into three income bands. The first income band already pays no premiums. That means that this new rule applies to bands 2 and 3 only - families with income above 235% of the federal poverty level.)

HUSKY/Charter Oak RFP Released

The Department of Social Services recently released a Request for Proposals for “Managed Care Plans to perform managed care for its clients eligible for the Department’s HUSKY and Charter Oak program,” effective July 1, 2008. Potential bidders must submit a non-binding letter of intent by Thursday January 31, 2008. The RFP includes descriptions of the functions and duties of the successful bidders. Behavioral health, pharmacy benefits, and dental services will not be managed by the managed care plans. HUSKY behavioral health services are separately administered by the CTBHP; HUSKY pharmacy benefits will be administered by DSS effective January 25, 2008; and HUSKY dental services will also be administered by a separate entity some time after July 1, 2008. The combined RFP envisions a new Charter Oak program authorized by recent legislation to cover uninsured adults not eligible for other public programs. Bidders are required to fashion a commercial product that meets the requirements set forth in the RFP. DSS will subsidize the premiums for lower income individuals up to 300% of the FPL or $ 30,630 per year for an individual. There are other out-of-pocket costs (with caps), and limits on coverage. Read more about the RFP.Read the RFP proposal here. [PDF Link]

10:00 am - Opening Remarks and Introductions- Speaker James Amman

10:30 am - Discussion:

1. School Based Healthcenters: How can we better utilize SBHC’s?
2. Reimbursement rates for medical professionals: Are the changes we made last session working?
3. Healthcare professionals and educators: How can we address shortages in this field?
4. Mandates: How can we utilize them to develop the best medical practice?
5. Healthcare data: How can we develop the most accessible, efficient, and affordable system?

11:30 am - Open Discussion — Audience Public Comment

12:00 pm - Adjournment

Hang Your Dirty Laundry
Friday, January 11, 2008
Intersection of Main & Jackson Street
Willimantic, CT
5 p.m.

We’ll be airing all the dirt on January 11, 2008. Help us bring awareness to torture and indefinite detention and call for the close of Guantánamo Bay. We’ll be handing old T-shirts and rags on a clothes line with messages like “End Torture” and “Close Gitmo.”

Norwich:

>CLOSE GUANTANAMO March and Vigil (Norwich, CT)
Jan 11 2008 - 2:00 - 4:30om

• 2 p.m. Gather at Chelsea Parade South (between Washington and Broadway,directly across from NFA’s Slater Museum).
• 2:30 p.m. March downtown via Broadway to Rep. Courtney’s new offices, 101 Water St., and present petition.
• 3:15–4:30 p.m. Vigil at Thames Plaza (101 Water St. location).

Contact: Anne Scheibner Phone 860 437-8890.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission will offer free public informational and training sessions about the Citizen’s Election Program for prospective candidates, treasurers and any other interested individuals. All sessions will be held at the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT. All sessions will include question and answer periods.

The upcoming sessions will be held at the following dates and times:

• January 29, 2008 – 5:00-7:00pm, Hearing Room 1D
• January 31, 2008 – 2:00-4:00pm, Hearing Room 2D

Please contact the Commission to register for the session date of your choice by calling (860) 256-2940.

The training sessions will describe the major provisions of the Program, such as:

• Raising qualifying contributions,
• Qualifying for a grant from the Citizens’ Election Fund,
• Limits on a participating candidate’s use of personal funds,
• Limits on loans to the committee of a participating candidate,
• Grant amounts,
• Permissible expenditures,
• Expenditure limits, and
• Supplemental payments to a participating candidate facing a high-spending opponent who has not elected to participate in the Program.

Connecticut has been facing the problem of city versus town since colonial days, resulting in 169 governmental entities with great independent spirit but little interconnectedness. How do we come together? How do our communities maintain a sense of identity in an increasingly homogenized world? What about our cities? A century ago they were the engines of the industrial age. But what is their role now and in the future?

The issues facing us here are being addressed by communities across the nation. At each of our evening programs commentators will lead discussions that will bring the challenges home and help us rethink the “American Dream.”

Films:

• January 17: Connecticut and Its Cities: Three Centuries of Change (Part 1) Our introductory film explores the forces that created Connecticut’s cities and surrounding small towns, how they grew and what happened when industry moved on.
• January 24th: Taken For a Ride Public transportation shaped urban communities, offering citizens easy transportation and driving the development of downtown shopping and commercial districts. This changed in the 1930s through a sweeping campaign by GM to buy and dismantle the streetcars across the country.
• January 31: Subdivide: Isolation and Community in America What is life like in contemporary suburbia? Follow this personal study of isolation and the struggle to find community in an era of careless development.
• February 7: Suburbia: The Good Life in Connecticut? Learn how suburban ideals and myths influence our views on privacy, education, safety and the future of Connecticut’s urban centers.
• February 21: Independent America Follow the filmmakers on a transcontinental journey through 32 states in search of “Independent America.” Hear from hardy souls fighting for the right to remain independent in a land smothered by Big Box stores and fast-food chains.
• February 28: Save Our Land/Save Our Towns Join us for this voyage of discovery as we see how cities can be rebuilt and countrysides preserved from stripmalls and subdivisions.

Connecticut has among the worst racial disparities in assets in the nation. Minority households are much less likely to be homeowners and are more likely to have low assets, as compared to white households. For example, the median white household in Connecticut is nearly 27 times wealthier than the average minority household.

[Published as a summary (PDF LINK) and a 31-page full report (PDF LINK) with details of how asset insecurity corresponds to debt, job growth, educational opportunity and achievement, as well as racial and gender inequality – offering “a level of detail that exposes many of the blemishes that Connecticut’s affluent self-image masks.”]

As a 30-year state public-service worker, I was outraged to learn the Department of Transportation is offering bonuses to private contractors repairing the problem-plagued project along Interstate 84 in Waterbury (Dec. 20 article, “I-84 repairs going smoothly”).

As a state taxpayer, I believe we should expect the deficient drains on Connecticut’s “Little Dig” to be replaced on budget and on time without having to resort to what amounts to bribery.

Our members in CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 have called for Gov. M. Jodi Rell to appoint front-line workers in the agency to play an active role in reforming the agency since she announced her Commission to Reorganize the DOT in May. The first recommendation in our “5-Point ‘Safety, Security and Savings Plan,” presented last summer, was to reform the way transportation projects are contracted.

The good news is the governor signed clean-contracting legislation in October, though its implementation is delayed until 2009. Paying bonuses to private contractors shows DOT management has no intention of performing the cost-benefit analyses or applying the tougher contractor review standards the law will require any sooner.

If we are going to remake the DOT into an efficient, quality-first provider of public services, what we really need is for the clean-contracting bill to be implemented now. We can’t afford to wait another year while DOT management wastes more of our tax dollars bribing private contractors into delivering quality services for taxpayers.

As we approach a special legislative session for new (and likely more punitive) changes in criminal justice policy, organizations advocating for a more humane approach will need to be a part of the debate if we’re going to achieve a fully-considered set of laws. Hopefully CNADP will find a way into the discussion.

In anticipation of tonight’s vote by Members of the Metropolitan District Commission to re-elect William A. DiBella as chairman, the CT Citizen Action Group (CCAG) is calling for new ethics rules that would protect the public from potential exposure to corrupt acts.

“With all the corruption in CT over the last decade, we believe the state must act this session to limit taxpayer’s exposure to potentially corrupt acts,” stated Phil Sherwood, Legislative Director of CCAG.

“Therefore we will be introducing legislation that will forbid individuals who have been banned from serving on boards of publicly traded corporations from serving on public and quasi-public boards, such as the MDC,” said Sherwood. “We’re optimistic the legislature and Gov. Rell will support such a proposal.”

Also, while there may or may not be a thread for each of these, here are the categories that I’ve sketched out for the different categories of news and information that I’ll be collecting – it’s not too late to shuffle the deck a little if you have any tips or suggestions.

• Civil / Human Rights
• Economic Justice / Healthcare
• Education
• Environmental
• Labor
• Political Parties
• Religion
• Sex / Gender
• Technology