Healthcare

A doctor employed at the University of Connecticut Health Center’s prison health service has left the health organization following a reprimand by the medical examining board. Dr. James O'Halloran worked at UConn for 15 years, but before even taking his state job he had a troubled record. In January, the medical examining board placed O’Halloran on probation for five years for over-prescribing controlled substances and having an affair with a female employee in his private practice. O’Halloran worked as physician for the Correctional Managed Health Care system that provides medical care to prisoners across the state. He was on leave pending the board’s decision. The board ordered that he undergo therapy and random drug testing and barred him from meeting with patients in private.

Connecticut lawmakers face high legal hurdles if they want to reform health benefits for retired state workers, according to a new study from the Manhattan Institute. A 2002 Connecticut Supreme Court decision set the precedent, ruling that retiree health benefits could not be changed when a collective bargaining contract ends. However, this precedent contradicts a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

About one hospital in five across the U.S. is for-profit. Connecticut — in keeping with regional tradition — is dominated by nonprofit hospitals. Across the country, the share of for-profit hospitals is growing, although the majority of hospitals are still nonprofit. Since 2000, the rate of for-profit ownership has increased from one in seven to one in five, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

It’s complicated. That’s the best way to describe the ongoing relationship between Gov. Dannel Malloy and Connecticut’s hospitals. Malloy has significantly changed the rules of their game since he took office five years ago - and the changes show no signs of slowing down. The past two weeks brought significant announcements highlighting these changes. First, Malloy intervened to prevent further hospital consolidation, a trend that raises concerns about increased costs and fewer choices. Then, worsening deficit projections led the administration to halt $140 million in payments to hospitals.

Yesterday morning, Yankee Institute president Carol Platt Liebau was a guest on WATR-Waterbury’s “Talk of the Town” with Larry Rifkin (and she’ll be joining Pastor Will on WTIC tomorrow). One of the most interesting parts of the discussion focused on the growing sense — across Connecticut and the nation as a ...

It’s the kind of information that’s released on a summer Friday — when no one’s supposed to be paying attention — for a reason. After all the self-congratulation about how well Connecticut’s version of ObamaCare is “working,” it’s profoundly alarming to learn that a backpack was found containing the personal information of 400 people . ...