Access Health CT

Judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans this week found that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate -- the requirement that residents buy health insurance or pay a fine -- is unconstitutional.

But they held off from saying that the entire law is invalid, sending the case back to a lower court in Texas for more analysis into which parts of the federal law can continue without the individual mandate. 

Residents still looking to get health care insurance coverage for 2020 have 30 more days to select plans through Access Health CT, the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange.

Access Health CT officials announced Monday that they’ve extended the open enrollment period to Jan. 15 -- the original deadline passed on Sunday. Officials said the extension gives people more time to review plan changes or select new plans for next year. 

Open enrollment for 2020 health plans on Connecticut’s insurance exchange is now underway. It’s the seventh enrollment period for the state’s marketplace, and despite a recent drop in the number of uninsured people, health officials are still trying to reach the nearly 187,000 residents who lack coverage.

The federal health care law was known as Obamacare. And Republicans, including President Trump, campaigned on repealing it.  

The rate of people without health insurance in rural Connecticut has gone down dramatically since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

That’s the takeaway message from a new report on health insurance out of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. Edwin Park, a research professor at the center, said the key to the drop is the state’s expansion of Medicaid to include more people.

Late last week, the Department of Justice announced it would not defend the Affordable Care Act in a lawsuit filed by 20 conservative state attorneys general.

Open enrollment on the state’s health care exchange, Access Health Connecticut, ends Friday at midnight. 

Open enrollment on the federal website Healthcare.gov will end this week. But if you’re looking for a plan on Connecticut’s exchange you have a little longer - until December 22nd. And Access Health CT has been using some novel methods to get the word out about health care coverage. 

Open enrollment to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges began Wednesday, but the enrollment period this time around is shorter than ever.

Consumers can begin shopping for 2018 health insurance through Access Health CT (AHCT) Wednesday, but will see sizeable price increases and have far less time to enroll than in previous years.

Connecticut has joined several other states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to end subsidies for low-income consumers who get their health insurance from Obamacare exchanges.

Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, is ramping up for open enrollment. The Obamacare marketplace is facing a number of challenges this year. 

Customers on Connecticut’s health care exchange will be facing double digit rate increases next year, but the state’s insurance commissioner said Wednesday she’s hopeful there might be some relief in sight. 

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini has a message for Washington, as the uncertainty over health care reform continues. 

Now that the Senate Republican health care bill has collapsed, the next step may be to vote on an outright repeal -- though that plan also faces political hurdles. But were the repeal to happen, it could have serious consequences for state residents.

Connecticut estimates as many as 230,000 of its residents on Medicaid could lose insurance coverage in the next ten years if the Senate Republicans' health bill is passed, and the state will have to shoulder an additional $3 billion in cost.

Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy is calling out Republicans for the secrecy surrounding the crafting of legislation reforming health care. And he condemned the Trump administration for what he said is an effort to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.

The two health insurers who currently offer plans on the state's health care exchange say they intend to return in 2018, but both have requested hefty rate increases. The cost of health care generally looks set to rise in Connecticut, as the Department of Insurance gets to work to review insurers rate requests.