AGP Executive Report

Breast Cancer Screening: Connecticut officials are urging women to get regular mammograms and highlighting free or low-cost screenings for residents with limited or no insurance. Hartford Hospital’s mobile unit is bringing free mammograms to uninsured women through October, helping close gaps in access to preventive care. Asthma in Hartford: Health advocates called attention to Hartford’s ranking as the nation’s eighth “Asthma Capital,” citing high asthma prevalence and ozone concerns. Health Coverage: Access Health CT open enrollment is underway, while eligible child-care workers can receive up to $1,200 a year toward health insurance premiums. Mosquito-Borne Illness: State officials reported the first Eastern Connecticut mosquitoes testing positive for Eastern equine encephalitis virus. EpiPen Pricing: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced an $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged efforts to inflate EpiPen prices.

Hartford Air Quality: Health advocates and lawmakers are meeting today after Hartford ranked eighth among 100 U.S. “Asthma Capitals” and fourth for asthma prevalence; the city also received an F for high-ozone days. Disability Services: Connecticut residents are suing the state over its use of IQ scores to deny intellectual-disability services. Coverage Costs: Access Health CT’s open enrollment is underway as federal changes reshape insurance options; eligible child care workers can receive up to $1,200 a year toward health premiums. Public Health: State officials reported the first Eastern Equatoria encephalitis-positive mosquitoes in eastern Connecticut. Drug Pricing: Connecticut’s attorney general announced an $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged efforts to inflate EpiPen prices.

Asthma and Air Quality: Hartford ranks eighth among U.S. “Asthma Capitals,” with the city also scoring poorly for ozone. Health advocates and lawmakers are meeting Monday to discuss risks and ways to improve air quality. Insurance Access: Access Health CT enrollment is open, as federal changes raise concerns about costs and plan choices. Connecticut is also offering eligible child care workers up to $1,200 a year toward health premiums. Infectious Disease: State officials have detected the first Eastern equine encephalitis-positive mosquitoes of the season in eastern Connecticut. Medicaid Care: Connecticut doctors say low Medicaid reimbursement makes it harder for HUSKY members to find appointments; lawmakers face calls to raise provider payments. Drug Prices: Mylan agreed to an $8 million settlement with Connecticut over claims it conspired to inflate EpiPen prices.

Cannabis Safety: UConn researchers found repeated CBN exposure caused tolerance and signs of physical dependence in mice, raising questions about the popular sleep-gummy ingredient’s long-term use. Mosquito Warning: Connecticut’s first EEE-positive mosquitoes of the year were found in Colchester; state health officials urge residents to keep using repellent and covering exposed skin until a hard freeze. Coverage Help: Enrollment is open for Connecticut’s new health-insurance subsidy for child-care workers, offering $1,000 to $1,200 toward 2027 premiums. Access Health CT enrollment has also begun, as shoppers face rising costs and potential changes to plans and providers. Drug Pricing: Attorney General William Tong announced an $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged efforts to inflate EpiPen prices. Yale Trial: A federal judge ruled a lawsuit over Yale New Haven Hospital’s cognitive testing of doctors over 70 must go to trial.

Mosquito Alert: Connecticut’s first EEE-positive mosquitoes of the year were found in Colchester. State officials urge residents to use repellent, cover bare skin at dawn and dusk, and check window screens until a hard freeze. Health Coverage: Access Health CT enrollment is underway for 2027 plans, with rising costs and insurer departures adding urgency. Some shoppers may be automatically moved to plans with different doctors and drug coverage. Child Care Workers: Eligible Connecticut child-care employees can receive $1,000 to $1,200 a year toward marketplace premiums for 2027 coverage; enrollment runs through Jan. 15. EpiPen Settlement: Mylan will pay Connecticut $8 million to settle allegations it inflated EpiPen prices and provide 10,000 free devices to 30 community health centers. Student Wellness: Connecticut community colleges face growing demand for mental-health support, with staff often helping students navigate counseling and other complex needs.

Coverage Costs: Connecticut’s ACA enrollment period is open, with higher premiums and other changes expected for 2027 as enhanced federal subsidies have expired. Rising medical costs are already pushing some people to skip visits or ration prescriptions, including a Milford woman who sold her childhood home to pay for care. Mosquito Alert: The state’s first EEE-positive mosquitoes this year were found in Colchester. Health officials urge residents to keep using repellent and covering up outdoors until a hard freeze. EpiPen Settlement: Connecticut secured an $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged price inflation and delayed generic competition; the company will also provide 10,000 free EpiPens to 30 community health centers. Campus Mental Health: Connecticut community colleges are working to meet student counseling needs, as staff report handling everything from crisis support to case management. Yale Trial: A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit over Yale New Haven Hospital’s cognitive tests for doctors over 70 must go to trial, where patient-safety concerns and age discrimination claims will be weighed.

Health Coverage: Access Health CT’s 2027 enrollment period runs through Jan. 15, with less federal financial help available after enhanced subsidies expired. State assistance may help some residents, and exchange staff and navigators can help compare plans. Medication Access: Connecticut’s $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged EpiPen price inflation includes 10,000 free devices for distribution through 30 community health centers. Student Mental Health: Connecticut community colleges are weighing whether counseling services meet student needs; at Tunxis, two wellness counselors support students, while staff also help with complex personal challenges. Food Safety: Recalled raw oysters from Virginia were sold in Connecticut and linked to a multistate Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 27 people and hospitalized five. Community Health: State officials are promoting safe disposal of unused medicines through take-back sites, permanent drop boxes and disposal pouches. Health Workforce: Connecticut plans a new insurance subsidy for early-childhood educators in 2027.

Health Coverage: Connecticut’s ACA enrollment period starts ahead of Nov. 1, with shoppers facing higher premiums, extra identity checks and tighter subsidy rules; the end of enhanced federal subsidies has already pushed some people out of coverage. Drug Costs: Mylan will pay Connecticut $8 million to settle state claims that it conspired to inflate EpiPen prices. Child Care Workforce: Connecticut plans to offer health insurance subsidies to early childhood educators starting in 2027. Food Safety: Recalled raw oysters from Virginia have been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 27 people and hospitalized five across 12 states, including Connecticut. Public Health: A new state dashboard gives communities access to local overdose data.

Coverage Access: Connecticut is offering more than 7,000 uninsured early-childhood educators an annual $1,000–$1,200 health insurance subsidy; enrollment opens Oct. 23 for plans starting Jan. 1. Food Safety: Recalled Virginia oysters linked to a multistate Salmonella outbreak reached Connecticut. The outbreak has sickened 27 people across 12 states, with five hospitalized. Drug Costs: Attorney General William Tong announced an $8 million settlement with Mylan over alleged EpiPen price inflation; the company will also provide Connecticut 10,000 free auto-injectors. Drug Development: New Haven-based Biohaven’s rare-disease drug will receive a fresh FDA review, with a decision expected in the first quarter of 2027. Children’s Care: Low Medicaid reimbursement is contributing to long waits for eye care for Connecticut children covered by HUSKY.

Overdose Prevention: Connecticut’s new monthly Department of Public Health dashboard breaks overdose deaths down by town and region, giving local health teams data to target prevention and connect residents with care. Health Coverage: Eligible child-care workers can apply for $1,000–$1,200 toward 2027 insurance premiums through Access Health CT; the state’s $10 million program aims to support a workforce where up to one in five workers is uninsured. Breast Cancer Research: Connecticut Breast Health Initiative grants will fund projects in early detection, treatment and survivor support, including research at Yale and UConn and rehabilitation for patients with lymphedema. Care Access: Low Medicaid reimbursement is contributing to long waits for eye care among Connecticut children covered by HUSKY, while Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy are pressing to reverse federal Medicaid cuts. Food Safety: A multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to recalled Virginia raw oysters has sickened 27 people; the oysters were sold in Connecticut. Recovery: Former Norwalk Common Council member George Tsiranides is making progress in physical and occupational therapy at Gaylord after a spinal cord injury left him unable to walk.

Breast Cancer Research: Connecticut Breast Health Initiative awarded grants for early detection, treatment and survivor support, including research at UConn and Yale and help accessing lymphedema care. Food Safety: Recalled Virginia oysters linked to 27 Salmonella illnesses across 15 states were distributed in Connecticut. The recall covers oysters harvested Sept. 18–Oct. 8; no deaths have been reported. Medicaid Access: Low reimbursement rates are contributing to long waits for eye care among Connecticut children covered by HUSKY. Campus Mental Health: Connecticut State Community College students and staff say counseling needs are stretching campus resources, with faculty often helping students navigate crises and complex problems. Prevention and Treatment: New Haven schools are teaching students about vaping risks, while a Connecticut diabetes trial found conversation cards helped patients use medicine but did not improve blood sugar. Health Coverage: Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are pushing to reverse federal Medicaid cuts.

Diabetes Care: A New Haven trial found that conversation cards helped patients with type 2 diabetes take their medicines more consistently, but did not improve blood sugar levels. The study involved 143 patients at Fair Haven Community Health Care. Coverage Costs: A Connecticut health-plan guide urges shoppers to compare deductibles, prescriptions and provider networks—not just premiums—and cites a survey finding that 61% of state residents skipped or delayed care because of cost. Hospital Funding: State Comptroller Sean Scanlon is urging Connecticut to bar private equity ownership of hospitals and invest more in public services, pointing to Waterbury Hospital’s experience under former owner Prospect Medical Holdings. Emergency Readiness: Windham added AEDs at polling places and Memorial Park; the town’s emergency stations also include naloxone and bleeding-control kits. Access to Care: Low Medicaid reimbursement rates are contributing to long waits for pediatric eye care for Connecticut children covered by HUSKY. Billing Oversight: Stamford-area medical practices agreed to pay $866,539 to resolve allegations they billed Medicare and Medicaid for blood tests that were never performed.

Hospital Oversight: Comptroller Sean Scanlon says Connecticut should invest more in public services and consider barring private-equity ownership of hospitals, arguing that gaps in public funding invite investors. He pointed to Prospect Medical Holdings’ ownership of Waterbury Hospital. Patient Access: Low Medicaid reimbursement is contributing to long waits for pediatric eye care for Connecticut children covered by HUSKY. Medicaid Accountability: A Stamford doctor and affiliated practices will pay $866,539 to resolve allegations they billed Medicare and Medicaid for blood tests that were never performed. Coverage Concerns: Officials estimate 100,000 Connecticut residents could be at risk of losing health coverage as changes to the Affordable Care Act loom.

Food Safety: Recalled oysters linked to a salmonella outbreak were distributed in Connecticut; health officials advise consumers not to eat them. Coverage: Connecticut advocates warn that an estimated 100,000 residents could lose health coverage as federal Medicaid and ACA changes take effect next year. Mental Health: A study found online sports betting was associated with a 5% to 7% rise in anxiety and depression diagnoses and prescriptions; the research included states such as Connecticut, where betting is legal. Access to Care: Low Medicaid payments are contributing to long waits for pediatric eye care in Connecticut, as some specialists opt out of treating HUSKY patients. Hospitals: Connecticut is among six states considering changes to hospital approval laws as the federal government ties rural health funding to reducing those regulations.

Hospital Policy: Connecticut is among six states weighing changes to certificate-of-need rules as a condition for competing for federal rural-health funds. The five-year program offers $50 billion, though the rules’ role in controlling costs remains part of the debate. Children’s Care: Low Medicaid reimbursement is contributing to long waits for pediatric eye care in Connecticut, as some specialists limit HUSKY patients. Food Safety: A raw cheddar recall over E. coli contamination includes products distributed in Connecticut. Check for Family Farmstead Raw Mild Cheddar with lot code and best-by date 7/22/27; no illnesses have been reported. Health Coverage: The state is distributing $10 million in insurance assistance to more than 7,600 paraeducators. Patient Privacy: Connecticut and New York secured a $2.7 million settlement with a pediatric health network and an IT company over a failure to protect customer data.

Biotech: New Haven-based Invivyd has more than doubled its headquarters as it develops a broader COVID-19 prevention drug and treatments for other infections. Growth depends on successful drug development and replacing its current product. Coverage Costs: Connecticut employers are turning to individual coverage reimbursement plans to manage rising insurance costs. A new state tax credit may spur adoption, but workers must choose their own plans and premiums could offset savings. Access to Care: Membership-based practices offer longer visits and easier doctor access for a fee, but could further limit options where primary-care doctors are already scarce. Connecticut children with Medicaid also face long waits for eye care, while Manchester Memorial nurses warn short staffing puts patients at risk. Food Safety: A raw cheddar recall includes cheese sold in Connecticut after testing found two E. coli strains. No illnesses have been reported; check packages for the 7/22/27 best-by date. Hospital Policy: The Trump administration is encouraging states to loosen hospital approval laws to score higher for rural-health funding, a push that could affect where facilities and services expand.