Ansonia Library to hold presentation on Medicare changes

 

This is shared from the Library's Facebook page.

Griffin Hospital in Derby to host AARP Driver Safety Program

                                               Contributed photo 

DERBY - Griffin Hospital will host an AARP Driver Safety Program from 8:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Dec. 3 at the hospital, 130 Division St.

The AARP Driver Safety Program is the nation's first and largest refresher course for drivers. While the course is geared toward drivers age 50 and older, it is open to everyone.

The training is designed to help you learn current rules of the road, how to operate your vehicle more safely in today's increasingly challenging driving environment, and make some adjustments to common age-related changes in vision, hearing, and reaction time. 

The course also covers such topics as how to maintain proper following distance at all times; the safest way to change lanes and make turns at intersections; the effects of medications on driving; how to minimize the effect of dangerous blind spots; the importance of eliminating distractions, such as eating, smoking, and cell-phone use; proper use of safety belts, air bags, and anti-lock brakes and ways to monitor your own and others' driving skills and capabilities.

Participants will gain a greater appreciation of driving challenges and how they can avoid potential collisions and injuries to themselves and others. 

As an added bonus, participants can check with their auto insurance company about discounts for completing the course.

The cost is $20 for AARP members and $25 for non-members. Make checks payable to “AARP.”

To register, call Tammy at 203-732-1523.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Derby Public Library offers access to independent financial ratings

DERBY - The Derby Public Library presents its newest online database offering - Weiss Financial Ratings. 

You can access it from anywhere free with your Derby Public Library card.

Weiss Financial Ratings offers independent, unbiased financial strength ratings of banks, credit unions, and insurance companies and conservative buy-hold-sell investment ratings of thousands of stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. 

You can even set up a personal account to create a watchlist and get upgrade/downgrade notifications. 

For those of you on Medicare, there is also a great tool to help you evaluate the available Medicare Supplement Insurance plans and make sure you are getting the best price.

Simply go to our Facebook page or Twitter site on or after today, Sept. 20 to see Paige Grillo from Weiss Financial Ratings provide a deep dive into the functionality of the Database and teach us how to create an account, set up a watchlist for your bank, insurance company, stocks and mutual funds, how to create research tools (screeners) and run a Medigap report.

CONTACT: Reference Desk 203-736-1482 dplreference@biblio.org

This is shared from the Derby Public Library Facebook page.

Rochelle shares info on legislation concerning health care coverage

SB 1004, An Act Concerning Dental and Vision Insurance Coverage for Children, Stepchildren and Other Dependent Children, requires health, vision, and dental plans to cover dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ insurance plans – closing loopholes under the Affordable Care Act to ensure all families get covered. SB 1202, An Act Concerning Provisions Related to Revenue and other Items to Implement the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2023, develops the “Covered Connecticut” plan to provide affordable, quality insurance to over 40,000 residents who do not currently qualify for assistance. HB 6687, An Act Concerning Medical Assistance for Children and Adults Without Health Care Coverage, expands healthcare coverage to all children 8 and under who otherwise are not able to get coverage. SB 1003, An Act Prohibiting Certain Health Carriers and Pharmacy Benefits Managers from Employing Copay Accumulator Programs, ensures that all prescription drug discounts available to consumers will be passed on to consumers to reduce out of pocket costs. HB 5596, An Act Concerning Telehealth, continues expanded telehealth insurance coverage for two years. This is from a press release from state Rep. Kara Rochelle, D-Ansonia/Derby.

Rochelle seeks insurance relief for restaurants, bars during COVID-19 pandemic

Health insurance enrollment info through Access Health CT offered

*Shared from state Rep. Kara Rochelle's Facebook page.

'Turnback Tuesday' (on Wednesday) highlights The Home Trust Co. in Derby

Turnback Tuesday remembers The Home Trust Co., incorporated in 1873. 
The office was originally located at 239 Main St., then in 1901 moved to 293 Main St., Derby. The Home Trust Co. handled Investments, Insurance, real estate, rents, fidelity bonds and deposits. 
After many years of success, the Home Trust Co. joined the Second National Bank of New Haven / Derby Branch in 1966. 
Interesting tidbit: our own H. Holton Wood who was instrumental in building our Library was the Home Trust President from 1894 to 1897.

Thanks as always to the Derby Public Library staff for sharing interesting local history each week.

AARP Driver Safety Program slated at Griffin Hospital in Derby

 Griffin Hospital to host AARP Driver Safety Program Feb. 29./ Contributed photo

DERBY- Griffin Hospital will host an AARP Driver Safety Program from 8:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Feb. 29 at the hospital.

The AARP Driver Safety Program is the nation's first and largest refresher course for drivers. While the course is geared toward drivers age 50 and older, the course is open to everyone.

The training is designed to help you learn current rules of the road, how to operate your vehicle more safely in today's increasingly challenging driving environment, and make some adjustments to common age-related changes in vision, hearing, and reaction time. 

The course also covers such topics as how to maintain proper following distance at all times; the safest way to change lanes and make turns at intersections; the effects of medications on driving; how to minimize the effect of dangerous blind spots; the importance of eliminating distractions, such as eating, smoking, and cell-phone use; proper use of safety belts, air bags, and anti-lock brakes, and ways to monitor your own and others' driving skills and capabilities.

Participants will gain a greater appreciation of driving challenges and how they can avoid potential collisions and injuries to themselves and others. As an added bonus, participants can check with their auto insurance company about discounts for completing the course.

The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members. 

Make checks payable to “AARP.”

To register, call Esther at 203-732-1523. The hospital is at 130 Division St.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Logan shares information for post-storm help, safety tips

(Please share the following information with others. Thank you.)

UNITED ILLUMINATING:

• To report downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment, call 800 722-5584 (800.7.CALL UI).  www.uinet.com

EVERSOURCE:

• Call Eversource at 800-286-2000 to report an electric outage, or go online at www.eversource.com. Follow Eversource on Twitter (@EversourceCT) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceCT).  Sign up to receive storm outage updates via text, email, phone call at www.eversource.com.

• For gas leaks, call 877-944-5325

INSURANCE QUESTIONS?

• Questions about your insurance and storm damage? Contact insurance@ct.gov or check out these tips:  http://www.ct.gov/cid/cwp/view.asp?q=254640

SAFETY:

• Falling branches and uprooted trees can become tangled with electrical wires and become energized.  Please stay clear and report any fallen trees or wires immediately.
• If you use a generator, always operate it outdoors and as far from the house as possible. Keep it away from doors, windows and air vents to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
• The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu. If you suspect carbon monoxide is present in your home, go outside immediately and breathe deeply; then call 911.

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE:

• If you need additional assistance, call Connecticut's toll-free Infoline, 211, for information, referrals and other services.

Gentile hails House passage of prescription drug pricing bill

HARTFORD - State Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Derby/Ansonia, applauded House approval of legislation that creates transparency requirements for manufacturers of prescription drugs having large price increases.

House Bill #5384, An Act Concerning Prescription Drug Costs, will lead to consumer savings at pharmacies and will require drug companies to justify price increases when the price of a drug jumps by 20 percent in one year or by 50 percent over three years.

“This measure is very important to the constituents we serve and I am extremely pleased to see it becoming a reality,” Gentile said. 

“Healthy individuals may not be aware of the struggle that chronically ill patients or those with serious conditions have to endure in order to get the medications they need. This bill will lead consumers to much needed savings and more pricing transparency.” 

Provisions in the bill include:

1. Information about new drugs in the FDA approval pipeline so we can better plan for new drug spending on the state employee plan and Medicaid. 

2. Insurers must include information on the top 25 highest cost drugs, top 25 with greatest increases and the portion of premium that increased because of drug spending on plan when they file their rates with the state Insurance Department. 

3. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) must disclose rebates they received from drug companies and amount of rebate they passed onto consumers versus the amount they retained. Connecticut would become the first state in the country to require this. 

4. Insurers must either provide consumers with point of sale rebate at pharmacy counter or certify that they are using rebates to lower premiums

The bill now goes to the senate for consideration.

This is a press release from Gentile's office.

Klarides sisters vote to restore funding of Medicare Savings Program

HARTFORD - House Republican Leader Themis Klarides and state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria joined their colleagues Monday to restore funding to the Medicare Savings Program. 

The program helps more than 100,000 seniors and individuals pay for Medicare co-insurance, deductibles and premiums. 

The MSP plan was approved in the House and Senate by veto-proof majorities. 

“The House sent a strong message today with its overwhelming support for restoring much-needed resources for more than 100,000 elderly and disabled Connecticut residents who rely on Medicare for their health care needs," Klarides said. "The state’s dire fiscal condition has made this year a challenging one when it comes to balancing the budget and setting priorities, and while there will be difficult decisions in the months ahead, today we were able to provide this group of people a bit of the stability they’ll need to budget for their health-care costs heading into the summer.”

Klarides-Ditria said,“I heard from many seniors and individuals with disabilities that heavily depend on the Medicare Savings Program about the importance of restoring the funding for this program. 

“My colleagues and I worked together to find a bipartisan solution to restore the funding this year for MPS. Our mounting fiscal crisis continues to deepen, and as we move forward it is vitally important that we address our fiscal challenges by prioritizing state spending and reforming state government.” 

Among the methods used to restore program funding is a requirement that Gov. Dannel Malloy reduce the number of managers and consultants - a provision included in the adopted budget ignored by the governor. 

Other components include moving human resources-related functions of some state agencies into the state’s Department of Administrative Services, and requiring the governor to find savings in Executive Branch functions while limiting his ability to cut more than 10 percent from any one program.

The 2018 legislative session - a so-called short session - starts Feb. 7 and will see lawmakers focus primarily on issues tied to the state budget. 

This is a press release from Klarides-Ditria's office.

Naugatuck Valley Health District offers flu clinics at senior centers

The Naugatuck Valley Health District will offer influenza vaccine clinics to residents of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Seymour, and Shelton during the months of September, October and November. 

All residents are welcome to any of the clinics listed; appointments are not necessary.

The Naugatuck Valley Health District office is located at 98 Bank St., Seymour, and serves residents of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Seymour, and Shelton.

Clinic schedules are also posted on the NVHD website at www.nvhd.org.


This is a press release from Naugatuck Valley Health District.

Insurance official featured on Logan's Access TV show

State Sen. George S. Logan’s latest edition of “The Senate Reports” features Connecticut Insurance Department Consumer Affairs Director Gerard O’Sullivan, left.  
O’Sullivan discusses the state agency’s many efforts and initiatives to help answer Connecticut residents’ questions about insurance. 

The Department’s free Consumer Helpline is (800) 203-3447 and questions on any insurance topic can be sent toinsurance@ct.gov. 
On the web:  www.ct.gov/cid.  
The show can be viewed at www.SenatorGeorgeLogan.com and at www.AccessTV.org. 
Logan represents Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge. He can be reached at George.Logan@cga.ct.gov and 800-842-1421. 

This is a press release from Logan's office.

Crisco recognized by Connecticut Captive Insurance Association

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco of Woodbridge, right, was named a 'Legislative Champion.' / Submitted photo

The Connecticut Captive Insurance Association has named state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, as one of its “2016 Legislative Champions” for his leadership on insurance and risk management policy issues.

The CCIA (www.conncaptives.com) formally recognized Crisco Thursday at its 2016 Annual Captive Insurance Symposium at the Sheraton in Stamford.

“Thanks to your work on behalf of this critically important industry in Connecticut, you have helped create new jobs in the accounting, actuarial, legal and insurance fields, which continue to make Connecticut the top state in the nation for insurance and insurance- related businesses,” CCIA President Tom Hodson said. 

“Your hard work and dedication is being recognized on behalf of the many individuals and businesses that are part of the growing captive insurance industry in Connecticut.”

“There was an opportunity a few years ago to update Connecticut’s captive insurance laws, and to make us more competitive on a national scale, and we’ve done that,” said Crisco, who is Senate Chairman of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee. 

“Insurance is big business in Connecticut, and it’s an even bigger business since we made these captive insurance changes, so I’m very proud and honored that the CCIA is recognizing my hard work on behalf of them and on behalf of the corporations that benefit from our captive insurance opportunities here in Connecticut.”

A captive insurance company is generally defined as an insurance company that is wholly owned and controlled by its insureds; its primary purpose is to insure the risks of its owners, and the insured parties benefit from the captive insurer’s underwriting profits. When an insurance plan offered by a mainline insurance company doesn’t meet a company’s particular risk needs, that company might then form its own captive insurer.

Connecticut’s 2011 legislative revision of its existing captive insurance law made Connecticut a more attractive place to locate a captive insurance company, in part due to a first-year tax credit of $7,500 for newly established captives, fine-tuned language about what constitutes “common ownership and control” for the purpose of aggregating tax liability among multiple insurers, and an easier path for captive insurance companies to satisfy various IRS demands.

This is a press release from Crisco's office.  

Crisco urges residents to attend hearings on proposed insurance rate hikes

HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, Senate Chairman of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, today urged residents of the 17^th state Senate District towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge to attend one or both public hearings next month on proposed health insurance rate increases as requested by Anthem, ConnectiCare and Aetna.

Joseph J. Crisco

“I’ll be testifying against these proposed rate increases, and I encourage my constituents to do the same,” Crisco said today. 

“I’ve already come out against the proposed mergers of  Anthem and Cigna, and Aetna and Humana, and my opposition to these rate increases is based on the same philosophy: they are not good for Connecticut policyholders. The public must make its voices heard and send a message that these proposed insurance rate increases from Anthem, ConnectiCare, and Aetna have to be rejected and re-evaluated.”

Anthem is seeking an average 26.8 percent increase for the 56,700 people covered under individual plans in Connecticut, and is also seeking an average 14.3 percent increase for the 42,200 people it covers in its “small group” plan for employers with 50 or fewer employees. 

ConnectiCare is seeking an average 14.3 percent rate increase on the 47,595 people it covers in Connecticut under individual plans.

According to published news reports, the proposed rate increases are higher than the 9.6 percent impact of medical cost inflation and increased demand for those services. 

The state Insurance Department has the authority to reject or modify rates requests, based on its review of the filings.

The Insurance Department is holding three public hearings over the course of two days:

•  Aug. 3,  9 a.m. – Anthem
•  Aug. 4, 9 a.m. – ConnectiCare
•  Aug. 4, 1 p.m. – Aetna

The hearings will be held at the Connecticut Insurance Department, 153 Market Street, Hartford, in the 7th Floor Hearing Room.

This is a press release from Crisco's office.

Crisco leads Senate passage of breast cancer screening bill

HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, Wednesday led unanimous and bipartisan passage of a bill that would require insurance companies to pay for a high-tech medical procedure that has been shown in studies to detect 40 percent more invasive breast cancers.

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco

Tomosynthesis typically provides clearer and more accurate views of a breast as opposed to a standard two dimensional mammogram, thereby allowing for a more precise image of the location, size and shape of any abnormalities.

Tomosynthesis also reduces so-called “false positives” compared to other breast cancer detection methods, and has been shown in many studies to find 40 percent more invasive cancers.   

The bill has special meaning for Crisco: his wife Pat has recently undergone chemotherapy, surgery, and now radiation for breast cancer.

“This modern technology of tomosynthesis is offering new opportunities for physicians to detect cancer and offer life-saving treatments earlier than ever,” Crisco said on the floor of the Senate in support of the bill. 
“This bill takes a very strong stand for women’s health.” 

The bill passed the House of Representatives last week on an overwhelming and bipartisan 139-3 vote, and now heads to the governor for his consideration.

This is a press release from Crisco's office.  

Crisco takes action on crumbling residential foundations

HARTFORD – As hundreds of Connecticut homeowners are facing crumbling foundations due to a private-sector concrete company’s apparent mistake, the Insurance and Real Estate Committee that state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. (D-Woodbridge) co-chairs has passed a proposed bill designed to help homeowners in the future who may experience similar problems. 

Joseph J. Crisco

Hundreds of homes in northwest Connecticut that were built in the 1980s and 1990s have failing foundations due to some faulty concrete mix used by a private business contractor.

Last summer, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called on the Department of Consumer Protection and the Office of the Attorney General to conduct an investigation into these crumbling foundations.

Recently, The Insurance and Real Estate Committee passed a bill requiring insurance policies issued in the future to provide coverage to homeowners ‘for the peril of collapse and any work undertaken to prevent all or part of the covered dwelling from falling down or caving in.’

“It’s our responsibility to protect the public- that’s what we’re elected to do,” Crisco said. 
“There are people whose entire life savings is in their home. To have that destroyed is an injustice.”

House Bill 5522, “AN ACT CONCERNING HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE POLICIES AND COVERAGE FOR THE PERIL OF COLLAPSE,” was approved by the committee and forwarded to the House floor for further action.


This is a press release from Crisco's office.