Study: State has third-highest premiums in nation
Connecticut has the third-highest premiums in the nation for family health insurance, according to a study by the New York City-based Commonwealth Fund.
On average, Connecticut employers and workers paid just under $14,900 for a family health insurance policy in 2010, trailing only New Hampshire and Florida at $15,200 and $15,000, respectively. The cost of covering a family in New York totaled more than $14,700 on average.
Between 2003 and 2010, the cost of family coverage in Connecticut has risen 47 percent.
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Edgehill to Benchmark
Stamford Health System transferred ownership of Edgehill Continuing Care Retirement Community in Stamford to Benchmark Senior Living, the company”™s 16th Connecticut location in addition to sites in Brookfield, Ridgefield and Trumbull.
Stamford Health System is the parent organization for Stamford Hospital. Benchmark Senior Living is based in Wellesley, Mass.
“We”™re working closely with Benchmark to ensure this transition goes as smoothly as possible,” said Kathleen Silard, chief operating officer of Stamford Health System, in a written statement. “We”™ve had a great relationship with the Edgehill residents and their families, and our goal is to maintain those relationships with members of the health care community we serve.”
Report: Fairfield rejects development
Fairfield”™s planning and zoning commission reportedly rejected Fairfield Gateway L.L.C.”™s application to build a pair of medical office buildings at the site of a former garden nursery at Exit 44 off the Merritt Parkway.
The Fairfield Plant Factory closed last year. The town commission ruled the project would place too great a traffic strain on the surrounding residential neighborhood, according to the Daily Fairfield.
ConnectiCare again has lowest complaint ratio
For the sixth consecutive year in 2010, ConnectiCare had the lowest complaint ratio of any health plan in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Insurance Department.
The rankings are based on HMOs against which justified complaints have been recorded by the Connecticut Insurance Department. In 2010, only one complaint against Farmington-based ConnectiCare was considered justified.
Danbury Hospital affiliate gets $1.4M
New Milford Hospital is receiving a $1.4 million gift from the trust of a cable entrepreneur, with both it and Danbury Hospital part of Western Connecticut Health Network.
Paul Hancock, founder of New Milford Cablevision, established a trust in 1992 after selling his company. New Milford Hospital plans to use the money to buy medicine-dispensing machines for use in operating rooms, intensive care units and the emergency room.
Aetna leads business group ranking
The Northeast Business Group on Health ranked Hartford-based Aetna Inc. tops among tristate area insurance carriers based on a set of quality and value criteria it developed.
New York City-based Northeast Business Group on Health assesses health plans according to consumer engagement and various policies to spur health prevention, among others.
In July, the group created a solutions and innovations center to help identify ways for employers to improve the quality and value of the health plans they offer workers.
